Forgotten
by UnfortunateKingdom
Summary: Harry's best friends are Draco and Pansy... the Weasleys are a pureblood Slytherin legacy... Sybil Trelawney is Headmistress... and Harry doesn't even know there's something wrong! Please R&R!
1. Awakenings

**Forgotten**

**Chapter 1: Awakening**

It's dark inside and outside the walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Darkness engulfs everything within reach. Humans and creatures alike aren't safe from its touch. In the darkness a boy lays on his bed, soaked in a cold sweat. He breathes heavily... even in his dreams he knows something isn't right. All of a sudden he hears a scream so loud, it wakes him from slumber. He bolts upright in bed, gasping for breath. He cannot see... the darkness is everywhere. Where had that scream come from? It seemed like it was not to far away... what if someone was in danger? He fumbles for his wand, but looses his balance and goes crashing out of bed, entangled in sheets, blankets, and the bed hangings now ripped from his four poster bed. The darkness becomes darker, and his yells are muffled. He can't move... immobilized by his own bed sheets. All of a sudden he hears a familiar boys' voice.

"Harry! Harry! Stop! Stop kicking... ouch! Damn, will you just hold still?" the voice says. Harry slowly stops moving, and he feels hands trying to dig him out of his bedsheets. "Jeez mate, you really did a number on yourself. What in bloody hell were you dreaming about? Or did you just really have to piss...?" All of a sudden the sheets are tugged away from Harry's face, and he can now see the blurred outlines of the room he's in.

"My glasses... can you give me them? I can't see anything..." Harry says wearily, squinting to try and see better.

"Sure thing mate," the boy says. A few seconds later Harry slips on his glasses, and blinks wearily in the dim light. He looks around and sees three pairs of legs surrounding him. Slowly he looks up, and realizes he's surrounded by Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle. Harry screams.

"What the bloody hell are you gits doing in my dormitory?" Harry yells, standing up quickly, and trying to find his wand.

"Uh..." Malfoy falters, looking at Crabbe and Goyle. "_Your_ dormitory? It's our dormitory too..."

"And we're not gits!" Crabbe says resentfully.

"Geez, did you hit your head or something Potter?" Goyle says, concerned.

"Hit my head? HIT MY HEAD? I think you morons are the ones doing the head hitting!" Harry says, finally finding his wand on the bedside table. He grabs it and points it at the three boys. "Don't you dare hex me Malfoy, you bloody son of a..."

"Harry? Wow you must've really done a number on your head. We should get you to the hospital wing or something," Malfoy took two steps towards Harry, his arm outstretched.

"_Rictusempra!"_ Harry screamed, hitting Malfoy with the spell head on, causing him to collapse onto the floor in uncontrollable laughter.

"Bloody hell Harry, what's gotten into you?" Crabbe said, slowly backing up.

"We're gonna go get help," Goyle said, grabbing Crabbe's arm and running for the dormitory door before Harry could do anything else. Malfoy still lay next to Harry's bed amidst the bedsheets laughing uncontrollably. Harry sidestepped him and walked into the middle of his dormitory. There were still five four-poster beds, all adorned with red and gold bed hangings and sheets. He was in the Gryffindor boys dormitory... but what were Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle doing here? Noticing the hangings drawn on the bed farthest from Harry, he went to go investigate what kind of surprise lay behind it.

Harry unceremoniously ripped open the bed hangings, revealing a dark skinned boy with high cheekbones. At first Harry wondered why the boy wasn't awake, considering all of the noise, but then he noticed a pair of charmed earplugs in the boys' ears. Frowning, Harry eyed the boy suspiciously. He reached down to shake the boy awake.

"Don't... Harry!" Malfoy yelled, causing Harry to stop. "Blaise... hates it... when he's... awoken... by someone... else! Don't... touch him... he'll... hex you...! You should... know that..." Malfoy struggled to say between giggles. Harry looked back at the sleeping boy, finally recognized him as Blaise Zabini, another Slytherin. But what in bloody hell was he doing in the Gryffindor dormitory along with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle? Harry slowly closed the bed hangings and turned back to Malfoy. For a moment, he just watched in stunned silence... How was all of this possible?

"Harry... please... unhex... me! This laughing... its... killing... me..." Malfoy said, as the laughing worsened. Harry noticed he was turning purple in the face, and clutching his sides as if they might burst. Sighing, Harry decided to take pity on him. Even if he did hate Malfoy with a burning passion for many reasons... the circumstances seemed rather... odd. Harry muttered the counter curse, and Malfoy instantly stopped laughing. He lay in the middle of the floor, gasping for breath, the purple color draining from his face. At a loss for words, Harry sat down on the edge of his bed, head in his hands.

"Malfoy... what's going on? I don't understand... what are you doing in the Gryffindor dormitory?" Harry stuttered. Malfoy took a few deep breaths before sitting up and looking at Harry.

"Harry... I really don't know what's going on with you. Do I have to explain the past six years of your life or something?" Malfoy said numbly, rubbing his sides.

"Yeah, that would help. A lot," Harry said. Malfoy sighed.

"All right. Seeing as your acting completely out of character... hexing me and all... I'll tell you," Malfoy said. He took a deep breath, and began to speak.


	2. Life So Far

**Chapter 2: Life So Far**

Harry sat on the edge of his bed, anticipating Malfoy's words. Just as Malfoy was about to speak, the door of the dormitory flew open. Both boys whirled around to face the intruder. In the doorway stood a girl with short black hair and dark, piercing eyes. She was wearing a pair of Gryffindor bedclothes, and had a look of concern on her face.

"Oh my god Draco, what's going on? I heard Crabbe and Goyle leave the dormitory... something about fetching Professor Snape, and something about Harry gone mad... Oh Harry!" The girl cried, sighting him perched on the edge of the bed. She went to go hug hum, but Malfoy stopped her.

"Don't Pansy. He's a bit... odd at the moment," Malfoy said, holding onto her red and gold pajama pants. "I was just about to tell him, at his request, about the past six years of his life," Malfoy said, standing up off the floor. He was tall and slim, with shaggy platinum blonde hair and ice blue eyes. Pansy looked up at him with concern.

"What exactly happened? Why do you have to tell him about the past six years of his life?" Pansy asked.

"I dunno... he just fell out of bed mumbling about something... and we helped him out of those bedsheets... and then as soon as he put on his glasses... he saw me, Crabbe, and Goyle, and freaked!" Malfoy explained.

"Oh no... What if someone's put a hex on his glasses?" Pansy said, tapping her chin. "Harry, take off your glasses,"

"Why?" Harry said, speaking for the first time. "Then I won't be able to see,"

"Because someone might've HEXED them!" Pansy said matter-of-factly. Harry sighed, took off his glasses, blinked a few times, and put them back on again.

"Nope not hexed. Now if you would kindly PLEASE tell me what the hell is going on... I would be extremely grateful," Harry said, as politely as he could manage. Pansy and Draco let out deep sighs.

"All right already, we'll tell, just hold your bloody horses..." Draco said. Pansy summoned two chairs from nearby over to her and Draco, and the two plopped down, facing Harry.

"Well... where should we begin?" Pansy said slowly, clasping her hands together, and glancing over at Draco. "I'm Pansy Parkinson... and he's Draco Malfoy. The three of us have just begun our seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,"

"We've all been best friends since our first year," Draco added. "We're all in Gryffindor house... our head of house is Professor Severus Snape, the transfiguration teacher here at Hogwarts,"

"The headmistress of the school is Sybil Trelawney. She came and informed you and your muggle Aunt and Uncle that you were to come to the school six years ago," Pansy said.

"You mean the Dursleys? But they HATE me with a burning passion! Always have! And I thought this year I'd be ready to be rid of them..." Harry said slowly.

"Hate you? Your aunt, uncle, and cousin were ready to become Squibs from what you've said," Draco said. "They might even get a job working for the ministry as Squibs,"

"The Dursleys? No... no way..." Harry was completely dumbfounded. And what was this business about Trelawney being headmistress? "Where's Dumbledore? Isn't he headmaster?" Harry said, crossing his arms. Draco and Pansy looked as if they were going to bust a gut.

"Dumbledore? Headmaster? That old squib?" Draco said. Harry clutched his wand tightly, wanting to hex Draco again for insulting Dumbledore.

"Harry, Dumbledore is just the grounds keep, nothing more. Him and his psychopathic old phoenix Mr. Fawkes patrol the corridors looking for troublemakers. Why would you think he's headmaster?" Pansy questioned. Before Harry could answer, the door of the dormitory was once again thrown open unceremoniously. Harry, Pansy, and Draco all whirled around to see who was intruding. In marched a tired looking Severus Snape, flanked by a bewildered looking Crabbe and Goyle.

"Potter? Malfoy? Parkinson? What in the blazes is going on?" Snape demanded. "Vincent and Gregory here have just told me... Potter's lost it or something,"

"It's true professor... he can't remember anything..." Pansy said quickly. Snape turned to Potter.

"Vincent and Gregory have already informed me of what happened. Now Potter, please tell me what the blazes you're thinking?" Snape said. Harry looked around at a loss for words. He was surrounded by people who he had thought were his enemies... but... were they? Was he, Harry Potter, loosing it? He looked around at the five anxious faces, and began to consider the fact that maybe he _was_ loosing it.

"I... I don't know professor. I woke up and... I just thought... everything was different, and I just wasn't expecting Malfoy and the others to be here in my dormitory... for some reason I thought they were my enemies or something..." Harry stammered, at a loss for words.

"Potter, it sounds to me like you've just had a bad dream. These children here, from what I gather, have been your close friends for the past six years. It must have been some convincing dream," Snape said sighing. He looked around at the anxious faces of Draco, Pansy, Vincent, and Gregory. "Are you all right Potter? Do you need to see the nurse?" Harry considered this for a moment, and then looked back over their fearful faces. These people... were his close friends? He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"No... no professor, I'll be okay. I guess you're right... it was just a bad dream or something," Harry said standing up.

"Well in that case... it's about six, so you lot might as well get up. Breakfast is in an hour and a half, so no sense going back to sleep," Snape headed for the door. "I'll just see you all later. Behave," And with that Snape exited. Draco, Pansy, Vincent, and Gregory all looked back at Harry with nervous eyes.

"So... you gonna be okay mate?" Malfoy said, rising from his chair and taking a careful step toward Harry.

"Yeah... yeah, I'll be okay," Harry said, at this point convinced he had just been hallucinating after all. Pansy smiled and she jumped out of her chair and swooped Harry into a hug.

"Good to hear it Harry," she said, stepping back carefully. "Now I'm off to change. I'll see you all at breakfast," Pansy said, nodding at the boys. She turned and headed out of the dormitory. The boys watched her leave, and once the door had closed shut behind her, they all turned back to face Harry.

"Well then mate, we better get ready for the day," Draco said, patting Harry on the back. Harry looked around at his friends, and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, back to normal then," Harry said, standing up from his bed and smiling around at his friends.

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Hope you all like this fic so far! Sorry about not giving any details… well, if ya like this fic PLEEEEEEASE R&R I beg ya, because it keeps me going, ya know? So neways, R&R plz… thankies!


	3. Do I Know You?

Hey thanks for reading this fic so far! I know it's starting out a little slow… but it'll get better I promise. And the chapters will probably get longer. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! My hits are past 100 for this story but I only have one review! (Which I am very grateful for ) I'd be even more grateful for just a few more! But anyways… I hope you're liking this fic!

**Chapter 3: Do I Know You?**

Awhile later Draco and Harry met Pansy in the Gryffindor common room to go down to breakfast. At first it was weird seeing them in Gryffindor uniforms, but Harry convinced himself that it was just a dream gone too far. The three left the portrait hole and journeyed down to the great hall. Harry could tell Draco and Pansy were trying their best not to mention the incident a few hours earlier.

By the time they reached the Great Hall, Harry had seen a few people along the corridors whom he had recognized, but couldn't place. However, the sight of food and the bright sunny weather in the ceiling of the great hall was enough to take Harry's mind off things for a while. He sat down with Draco and Pansy at the Gryffindor table, and was shortly joined by Vincent, Gregory, and Blaise Zabini. Vincent and Gregory set about telling Blaise every detail of the incident a few hours earlier. Blaise nodded somewhat unsurprised that Harry had lost it.

"I always knew you were gonna blow it sometime, Potter," Blaise said, tapping Harry on the head with his knuckles.

"Yeah... that's me!" Harry said, still getting used to being at a table surrounded by all of them. While the others spoke, Harry glanced around the Great Hall. All of these students... they looked familiar but he just couldn't remember who or where he had seen them! He knew they were from Hogwarts, but...

From across the hall Harry spotted a flash of bright red. A tall, lanky boy with shaggy ginger hair and a girl with long, glossy hair of the same color were walking from the doors of the Great Hall to the... Slytherin table? That didn't seem right... Harry shook his head. That was Ron and Ginny Weasley! Why weren't they over here? They should be. Harry could've sworn he was friends with them. But there they were, looking rather moody, fully dressed in their Slytherin robes. All of a sudden Harry felt someone grab his arm. He turned and saw the concerned faces of Draco and Pansy looking back at him.

"Harry, are you all right?" Pansy said, patting his arm. "You look... really distant,"

"What's going on mate?" Draco said, concerned. Harry looked at his friends, and then glanced across the hall at Ron and Ginny.

"Those kids... Ron and Ginny... they're my friends! My best friends! They're supposed to be here," Harry said, pointing to the Gryffindor table. "And you're supposed to be there," he said, motioning to the Slytherin table. Draco and Pansy looked at each other nervously.

"Harry... Ron is our worst enemy. Always has been. Him and the whole rest of that Weasley clan are a stuck up, pure blood Slytherin legacy that's still going," Draco said slowly.

"No... no. You're my worst enemy," Harry said slowly. He looked at the concern in his friends' eyes, and then back across the hall at Ron and Ginny. Frowning slightly, Harry got up from the table and began to walk across the hall to the Slytherin side.

"Harry, don't!" Pansy called. Harry just continued across the hall without looking back, his eyes intent on the two redheads. Hadn't he been dating Ginny? No... maybe he had just had a crush on her. Or was she just a friend? But he knew Ron was his best friend since he arrived at Hogwarts... or was that Draco? His thoughts jumbled, Harry shook his head, and walked right up to Ron and Ginny.

"Hi Ron! Hi Ginny! How are you? How's your mum and dad and brothers?" Harry said casually. Ron and Ginny turned around and looked at him as if he had lost it.

"What the bloody hell do you want Potter?" Ron said, his upper lip curling.

"Ron, what are you talking about?" Harry said slowly. "I thought we were friends," Ginny shrieked with laughter, and Ron smirked.

"Us? Friends?" Ron said, standing up. He was a good four or five inches taller than Harry, and rather intimidating, especially with a smirk plastered across his face. "Potter, what the hell is wrong with you? Get the hell away from our table before I hex the shit out of you, okay?" Ron said, the smirk on his face turning into a scowl.

"But Ron..." Harry started.

"Get away you bloody moron," Ron said, pushing Harry on the shoulder. Harry looked down at Ginny. "Ginny, we're friends, right?" Ginny just snorted with laughter, a smirk identical to Ron's on her face. Harry looked back and forth between the both of them. Could this mean... they really were his enemies?

"Go on Potter, go! Get your filthy blood-traitor self AWAY from our table!" Ron said, pushing Harry again. Completely dumbfounded, Harry finally realized that half of the kids at the Slytherin and Hufflepuff tables were staring at him like he had just landed in a spaceship. Slowly Harry began to back away. It wasn't like him to run from a fight but... he could've sworn Ron and Ginny were some of his best friends...

Not knowing what to do, Harry turned and headed for the doors of the Great Hall. He could hear some scattered laughter and whispers as he left. He felt his face turning red. What was he doing? Draco and Pansy were his friends, not Ron and Ginny! Why did he think they were? What was wrong with him?

Harry began walking aimlessly down the hall. He was a bit distracted and confused, and wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He rounded a corner rather quickly and ran smack into someone. Books, parchment, and quills went flying everywhere as Harry fell to the floor opposite the person he ran into. His glasses askew, Harry groaned and rubbed his head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," said a rushed voice. "I'm in a dreadful hurry. Are you alright?"

"Yeah... yeah sorry. It was my fault not yours," Harry said, fixing his glasses and sitting up. There he came face-to-face with a familiar looking girl with bushy brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a Ravenclaw school uniform. "Hermione?" Harry said dumbfounded. That's right. He had another best friend besides Ron... but Ron wasn't his friend.

"Uh... yeah that's me," Hermione said, quickly whipping out her wand and ordering all of her books and parchment back into her schoolbag.

"Hermione it's me! It's Harry!" Harry said, standing up. Hermione looked up at him like he had just slapped her.

"Uh, yeah. I know," Hermione said. "Now if you'll please excuse me, I have to get to class..."

"No, no!" Harry said, blocking Hermione from going anywhere. "It's me! It's Harry! You know... we're best friends, right?" Hermione stared.

"Uh... we're in the same year. But I wouldn't say we're best friends, or even friends for that matter. More like aquaintences," Hermione said politely, trying to push past him again.

"No! Me, you, and Ron Weasley! We're best friends! We're in Gryffindor... or at least I thought we were..." Harry trailed off. Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"Look Potter, I don't have time for this. You obviously had a bad dream, or maybe you're just messing around. Whatever the case, I don't have time for it," Hermione said, sounding exhausted. "Now if you'll please excuse me, I have a class to get to," Hermione pushed past Harry in an indignant huff, leaving him standing in the middle of the hallway completely dumbfounded, once again.

"Harry!" came a cry from across the hallway. Harry whirled around and faced Draco and Pansy once again. "Harry, what has gotten into you? Honestly?"

"Come on mate, pull yourself together!" Draco said, shaking him on the shoulder. Harry looked from Draco to Pansy and back again. They honestly, genuinely looked scared and concerned for him... but why couldn't Harry remember their friendship?

"Do you guys... promise me that we're friends? We always have been? This isn't some kind of trick or something?" Harry said slowly.

"Yes of course! We'd never, ever trick you like this Harry!" Pansy said.

"Yeah, mate! We've been friend for ages, I swear!" Draco said, Pansy nodding in agreement. Harry sighed.

"All right... all right guys. I'll cut this out. It's just weird. I can't explain it. You guys are my friends but I just... I don't know. I keep thinking you're not and that other people are..." Harry shook his head violently, and then looked back up at Draco and Pansy. "But never mind! All better, see?" Harry said, smiling widely. Draco and Pansy exchanged nervous glances.

"Okay Harry. That's great. All back to normal," Pansy said. Draco nodded.

"Off to charms then?" Draco said. Harry nodded.

"Oh yeah, very excited to see Professor Flitwick today..." Harry started. Draco and Pansy stared at him. "I mean... not Flitwick..." Harry said, catching on. He had to remember not to talk until he figured things out...

"It's Professor Hagrid," Pansy said slowly, turning and heading off in the direction of charms class.

"Oh yeah, right! Haha, just messing with you guys!" Harry said, patting Draco and Pansy on the back. Draco smiled and laughed a little more easily than Pansy. And together the three friends walked off to charms class...


	4. Smile Like You Mean It

**Chapter 4: Smile Like You Mean It**

The day dragged by slowly. Harry felt as if he were watching himself from far away. Luckily he managed not to mix up any of the teachers and students for the rest of the day. But as Harry carried on, he was surprised to find that he still could not remember any of his fellow students. He could've sworn Neville Longbottom was in _his_ dormitory in Gryffindor, and not in Hufflepuff. The same went for Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, who were currently in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

Harry also couldn't remember who his teachers were or what classes he was taking. Luckily Draco and Pansy were in all of his classes, so he didn't have to ask where he was supposed to go. That day Harry had had charms with Professor Hagrid, transfiguration with Professor Snape, and double potions with Professor McGonagall. Since he was in his seventh year he had quite a few breaks, but loads of homework. Although he had forgotten who most of the people around him were, Harry had managed to remember everything from his years of lessons in Wizardry. By dinner time, he had managed to figure out who at least half the people at Hogwarts were, and how they played a role in his life. He wished he could just ask Draco and Pansy who was who and why, but he knew that they were still unsure if he was completely back to normal.

Of course Harry was thrown completely off guard when Draco asked him when this year's Gryffindor quidditch team try outs were.

"Try-outs... we need more people on the team?" Harry said, vaguely remembering that he was the Gryffindor quidditch team captain. Draco and Pansy exchanged glances.

"Yeah Harry. We need two new chasers to fill Larry and Marvin's spots... remember, they graduated?" Draco said. Harry froze for a moment. He couldn't remember anyone named Larry or Marvin, or even what position he played on the quidditch team. But, he wasn't about to let Draco and Pansy know that.

"Of course I remember they graduated!" Harry said indignantly. "And of course I remember we need two new chasers," Harry said quickly. He racked his brain trying to remember who was on the quidditch team with him, but came up with no one. "Uh... hey Draco, could you round up the rest of the team for a meeting later tonight in the common room? Say in about... an hour?" Harry said, quickly standing up. "I've gotta go do something really quick. I'll see you then," Harry said, turning and hurrying out of the Great Hall before Draco could protest.

Harry had no idea what he was going to do for the next hour. He debated about wandering the halls of Hogwarts and getting reacquainted with the school, but he had had no problems with recognizing landmarks and where to go. So he decided to go back up to his dormitory and wait until the meeting.

A few minutes later Harry entered his dormitory and flopped down onto his bed. He wasn't tired or in pain. He wasn't hearing voices in his head or seeing things. So what could possibly be wrong with him? Harry rolled over onto his side and caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror across the room from him. He looked the same as he had always remembered... Bright green eyes hidden behind thin wire-rim glasses, shaggy black hair, and a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead that he had gotten when he fell down the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house. At first it felt like that was wrong interpretation of himself in some way, but Harry couldn't believe it. He sat up in an angry huff and buried his face in a pillow.

"STOP IT POTTER! YOU JUST HAD A BAD DREAM! THAT'S ALL IT WAS! STOP ACTING LIKE SUCH A GIT! YOU'RE JUST FORGETTING THIS STUFF BECAUSE YOU'RE STILL IN SHOCK FROM WHATEVER THAT DREAM WAS ABOUT! JUST CUT IT OUT ALREADY, YOU'RE LETTING DOWN YOUR FRIENDS AND EVERYTHING!" Harry screamed angrily into the pillow. He sat there for a moment, his head burried in the pillow, near to tears. Then he slowly sat up and looked around. He could feel his cheeks burning, and he hoped they weren't red - his quidditch meeting was in a few minutes. Harry slowly took some deep breaths and stood up. He was fine. He was going to be fine. He'd just put a smile on his face, walk down to the quidditch meeting, and talk strategy.

To anxious to wait any longer, Harry left his dormitory and walked down to the common room. There were a few students here and there, but no sign of Draco and the quidditch team. Harry took a seat at a medium sized table and waited. He realized that he had nothing planned for what he was going to say to his team when they got there, so he quickly thought of a rough idea for a training schedule and try-outs date, and that he had yet to ask Professor Snape when he could sign up to use the quidditch pitch.

About five minutes later, Draco entered the portrait hole followed by Vincent, Gregory, and a girl who Harry recognized as Susan Bones. The approached the table and sat down alongside Harry.

"Hello team!" Harry said jovially, trying to cover for the fact that he still couldn't remember which positions they all played. The rest of his team mates nodded their hellos. "Well, this season should be a great one! We're definitly in the running for the cup if we can find some decent chasers," Harry started.

"When are the try outs for the two new chasers going to be?" asked Susan.

"Uh... this Saturday if I can get the pitch. I'm not going to put up a sign until I speak with Professor Snape though, so don't go telling everyone," Harry said. The rest of the team nodded. "Our practice schedule this season will probably Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights, given we can get the pitch. Of course games are on Saturday, and I don't know if any of the other captains want to have a friendly scrimage or not,"

"_Friendly_ scrimage? Yeah right!" Draco said. "The day Hogwarts holds a friendly scrimage is the day a house elf is headmaster," The other kids laughed, and Harry managed to add in a half-hearted chuckle.

"Well, okay, it won't be _friendly_ exactly, but... what is these days, anyway?" Harry said shrugging. The others stared at him with wide eyes, and there were several moments of silence.

"So is that all, then?" Gregory asked, looking at his watch.

"Oh yeah, yeah that's all I wanted to say," Harry said. "And you'll all be able to make it to the try-outs if they're on Saturday, right?" The others nodded, and Harry smiled. "Great. Well, I guess you'll all know for sure when I put that sign up, alright? See you all around," Vincent, Gregory, and Susan said their good-nights and moved to other parts of the common room. Draco remained by Harry, staring intently at him. Harry just smiled, trying to break Draco's concentration.

"So then... you're all right, mate?" Draco said quietly. "Because Pansy's not so sure. I mean, I think you're okay..."

"Oh yeah. Yeah I'm fine. It was just, um... one hell of a dream!" Harry said, faking a laugh. "But really, I'm all right now Draco, you and Pansy have absolutley _nothing_ to worry about!" Draco continued to stare intently at Harry for a few more seconds, but finally a real smile broke across his face.

"All right mate, I believe you. Knew it was just a fluke. But uh... don't hex me with rictusempra next time you think I'm you're worst enemy... my stomach muscles are _still_ sore..." Draco said, rubbing his stomach.

"Oh, sorry about that," Harry said, managing a mild laugh. A few minutes later Pansy joined Draco and Harry, and the three worked on their homework until about eleven. By that time the common room was nearly empty, and the fires were getting low.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed," Pansy said yawning. She looked over at Harry, her dark brown eyes intent. "Are you going to be alright? I mean... you won't wake up tomorrow and forget who _you_ are?" She said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Relax Pansy, I'll be fine. I'm ok now, _nothing _is going to happen!" Harry said.

"Don't worry Pans, he promised he wouldn't rictusempra me again," Draco said laughing. Pansy smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Let's just hope next time it isn't Avada Kedavra..." Pansy mumbled, giving a small smile. Draco looked at Harry, his eyes wide.

"Harry wouldn't do that! Besides, I don't think any of us are strong enough to cast an unforgivable curse yet," Draco said shrugging.

"I know, I was just kidding! Of course I know Harry would never cast an unforgivable on you!" Pansy said laughing. "Jeez, you guys have to lighten up a little!" She said, clearing her books and papers and standing up. "I'll see you in the morning," she said smiling. She waved good bye and descended the stairs to the girls dormitory, leaving Draco and Harry alone.

"So you think we should get to bed?" Draco asked.

"Ah, you can go. I gotta finish this essay for herbology," Harry said waving a long piece of parchment in the air.

"All right, I'll just see you tomorrow then," Draco said shrugging.

"Night Draco," Harry said as Draco gathered up his books and papers.

"Night Harry," Draco said stopping at the foot of the stairs and smiling. Harry returned the smile, but once Draco was gone, Harry secretly wondered if his smiling and comments to his friends were true or just in vain...

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**Hey, thanks for the few reviews! Glad you are liking the fic… the slow beginning of it is over, next chapter should be a bit more exciting? Maybe? I dunno, you can be the judge… Well anyways, plz R&R and thanks for reading!**


	5. Professor?

**Chapter 5: Professor?**

The next morning Harry woke up and went down to breakfast with Draco and Pansy. He was half expecting them to be constantly checking to make sure he was okay, but they didn't show any signs of remembering what had happened the previous day. He decided to follow their lead, and not mention it either.

He saw Ron and Ginny from across the hall, but he didn't think to walk over and speak with them, let alone even look at them for too long. They were quite malicious looking - a bona fide smirk placed firmly on their perfect faces. There was always a large group of kids around them. Harry guessed it was probably because the Weasley family was a legacy in Slytherin, and all of the other kids wanted a piece of it.

After finishing his breakfast, Harry excused himself from the Gryffindor table to go speak with Professor Snape about the quidditch pitch. At first it felt awkward for him to be walking to Snape's office... but he shook that feeling off as soon as he got to the door. He knocked politely, and opened the door when he heard the faint voice of Professor Snape say "_Enter,_"

"Good morning Professor," Harry said, sidling over to Snape's desk.

"Morning Potter. How can I help you?" Snape asked, shuffling away some parchment and looking up at him.

"Well... I was wondering about the quidditch pitch. I was hoping for evenings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for practice time. Is that possible?" Harry asked. Snape tapped his chin, and then quickly summoned a piece of parchment from out of nowhere. He began to read it, and then glanced up at Harry.

"Well it looks as if the Slytherin Quidditch team has already booked the pitch those days from six to eight, and the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw teams have Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday taken. As you know Saturdays are free days," Snape said, glancing up at Harry.

"So that means all that's left is eight to ten on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday," \Harry pondered this for a moment. He knew his team wouldn't be happy about having to practice so late, especially since the majority of them were in their seventh and final year. But since there were no other times, he knew he had to take this one. "All right, I'll take that time," Harry said. Snape waved his wand at the parchment, and Harry could see something being written on it.

"Anything else Potter?" Snape asked, when he saw Harry hadn't left yet.

"Yes... could I also have the pitch from 12 to 2 this Saturday? It's for try-outs... we need two new people on the team," Harry said. Snape glanced over the list again.

"I see no problem with that," Snape waved his wand again, and a few seconds later the parchment disappeared completely.

"Thanks Professor, that's all I needed," Harry said, nodding his head. "See you later," Harry turned and quickly walked out of the room. As he hurrried down the hall to Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Harry couldn't help feeling uneasy. Professor Snape had been his head of house for going on seven years now, but he still felt really odd around him.

Harry shook the thoughts away as he entered his DADA classroom. He quickly slid into a desk next to Draco and Pansy who already had their wands and textbooks out.

"Hey Harry, you're just in time," Pansy muttered, glancing over at the classroom door. But before Harry could reply the door opened, and in stepped their teacher. He was tall, skinny, and very handsome. He had dark brown hair, piercing eyes, and a smile that seemed a bit... odd. Harry thought it looked somewhat more like a friendly smirk.

"Good morning class!" the teacher said brightly.

"Good morning Professor Riddle!" everyone answered merrily. Harry froze. He felt shivers crawl up and down his spine, as if someone had just dropped some ice cold water down his back. The name Riddle sounded familiar, but Harry couldn't place where he knew it. He figured it was just another side effect of the previous day's events, so he just shrugged it off and tried to concentrate on Professor Riddle's lesson.

"Today we'll be continuing on Unforgivable Curses. Last Thursday we established the various curses and their effects. Today I'll be demonstrating for you the effects of the Cruciatous curse on this ordinary street rat," Riddle said, holding up a clear box with a rather disgusting looking rat inside. "Your N.E.W.T.S. might ask for you to describe the effects of this curse, and I thought it might be easier for you to remember them if you could see them for yourself!" Professor Riddle said, a faint spark in his eyes. An excited murmur passed through the classroom.

"Well isn't this bloody brilliant," Draco said glumly. Harry thought Draco might have been somewhat excited by this demonstration, but he apparently wasn't.

"Oh Draco, come on! They save this sort of thing for our final year, because now we're old enough to handle it! It's _wonderful,_" Pansy said smiling, resting her chin on her hands and staring somewhat dreamily at Riddle. Draco just crossed his arms and slouched further down in his chair.

"Now if you are all ready," Riddle said from the front of the class. Everyone nodded vigorously, and Riddle laughed cooly at the student's excitment. "All right then..." Riddle set the clear box down on his desk and removed the lid. The rat scuffled around in the box, not suspecting a thing. Harry saw Riddle's lips curl into a twisted smile. "_Crucio!_" He shouted. The class was filled with scattered shrieks as the rat began to wither in pain. Harry saw Pansy cover her mouth with one hand and let out a small gasp. Draco just rolled his eyes and stared gloomily at the rat. After a few moments Riddle undid the curse, and the rat lay still. There was a looming silence in the class for a few moments.

"Is it dead?" Blaise Zabini asked from across the classroom.

"No, it's not dead," Riddle said, the friendly smirk returning to his face. "It's in shock. Most likely it will never recover from what I just did. As you know, most humans hit with this curse for too long will either die from the pain or be forever changed," Riddle paused for a moment before speaking again. "Now will you please open your textbooks to page twenty-seven..."

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"Wasn't that lesson brilliant?" Pansy said, her eyes bright. "Professor Riddle is SUCH an amazing teacher! And he's only 24 years old, the youngest teacher to ever teach here at Hogwarts!" Harry, Draco, and Pansy were sitting in the library on their break trying to work on some homework, but of course they had strayed from their work and began talking.

"Yeah, it's brilliant if you're a crazy fangirl..." Draco muttered.

"What do you mean 'crazy fangirl'?" Pansy asked, frowning slightly.

"Oh, you know, just the fact that every girl in the school is madly in love with Riddle. I think he qualifies to having his own fan club," Draco said.

"I'm not madly in love with Professor Riddle! He's just a really excellent teacher!" Pansy said crossing her arms.

"Oh, and the fact that he's 'totally gorgeous' has nothing to do with it?" Draco said rolling his eyes.

"Draco, get off it. I'm not in love with Professor Riddle, I just think he's an excellent teacher, especially for being so young," Pansy said in an annoyed tone.

"Whatever you say," Draco said numbly, turning back to his schoolwork. Pansy let out an exasperated sigh, and began to gather her schoolwork.

"You know, I think I have somewhere I have to be. See you guys later," Pansy quickly picked up her bag and left the library before Harry even had a chance to say good-bye.

"Bet she's off to go hit on Riddle..." Draco snorted.

"Draco, come on. So what if she thinks Riddle's a good teacher?" Harry said.

"A good teacher? Come on, every girl in the school is in love with him. He could be teaching us how to jump rope with a doxie, and she'd _still_ like him..." Draco said frowning. Harry raised his eyebrows. Did he detect jealousy in his friends' voice?

"You're not jealous... are you?" Harry questioned. Draco looked up, somewhat stunned.

"JEALOUS? Of WHAT? Why would I possibly be jealous of _Riddle_," Draco said, sounding out Riddle like it was infected.

"Well, I don't know, you're just going on and on about how terrible he is, when he isn't even _that_ bad of a teacher," Harry said, ignoring the fact that he couldn't remember Riddle at all before today.

"Not you TOO Harry," Draco said sighing. "Don't go fangirl on me..."

"I'm not. You just have to lighten up a little. What, do you think Pansy is going to run off and marry him or something?" Harry asked.

"What? No! No way, he's not really her type," Draco muttered. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Then what _is_?" Harry smirked. Draco looked at Harry oddly, opened his mouth as if to speak, and then closed it again.

"You know what... I gotta go. See you later Harry," Draco said, gathering his schoolwork and hurrying out of the library faster than Pansy had.

"See you..." Harry muttered after Draco had already gone. Harry shook his head and smiled, tapping his quill against the library table. Sighing, he gathered up his schoolwork. There was no point in trying to do his schoolwork now that he couldn't concentrate anymore. As he left the library, Harry hoped this sort of thing wouldn't happen again. But knowing his friends... it was bound to happen again soon.

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**Thanks for all the reviews and keep them coming! The chappies will get longer when the "plot thickens", and I have a few more characters to throw into play pretty soon here. There will be some romance, and for all you Ron and Hermione fans: they WILL come back sometime in this fic, so never fear! Oh and to Drays Girl: Yes they (Harry, Draco, Pansy, etc.) are all in their seventh and final year at Hogwarts in this fic. Anyway, glad you're all likin the fic! Plz R&R! Thankies!**


	6. Chasers

**Chapter 6: Chasers **

The next three days flew by quickly, and before Harry knew it he was standing in the Quidditch pitch on a sunny Saturday morning, facing at least 60 hopeful Gryffindor students.

"Quite the turn out," Draco said, crossing his arms.

"Well, everyone wants a piece of the Gryffindor quidditch legacy! 7 years running if we win this year!" Susan said, punching the air.

"Yeah, but first we have to get some decent chasers," Harry said, eyeing the crowd. "All right then, better get started," Harry said sighing. Vincent and Gregory started up a hum of the death march.

"Shut it you two," Susan said, punching them both in the gut. Harry stifled a laugh, and turned to face the crowd.

"Good morning!" Harry said. The crowd became deadly silent almost at once. "As you know... I'm Harry Potter, captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team. And as you know, we need two new chasers!" The crowd remained silent. Harry could feel the impatience building. "All right then, I'll have you all start off by flying around the pitch. Those who get too far behind will be asked to leave. If you hit or hex or in anyway try to harm someone else, you're off the field. Now, off you go!" Harry said. In a matter of seconds, 60 kids were launched into the sky. Harry sighed and looked back at Draco, Susan, Gregory, and Vincent, who were all laughing.

"Tactful... Potter..." Susan said between giggles.

"What can I say? It's the easiest way to get rid of them!" Harry said, motioning up into the air, where already it was becoming clear who could fly and who could not.

"When are you gonna call them off?" Gregory asked.

"Eh... in a few minutes. Some of them might not be warmed up yet, you know?" Harry said, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"Lucky for them you're so forgiving!" Susan said, touching Harry's arm. Harry smiled and kept scanning the skies.

"Lucky for me I've got such a good team," Harry said, without looking down at Susan. He could feel her grin, even though he wasn't looking, and it made him smile wider. "Well, I'm going to go get in there," Harry said, quickly summoning his broom, mounting it, and taking off before anyone could protest.

"Potter, you're insane!" Harry heard Susan call when he had risen about fifteen feet in the air.

"It's a gift," Harry shouted back. He accelerated higher, the air rushing by his ears, and before he knew it he was in the middle of the pitch, watching the other kids fly by. He hovered for a few minutes just watching, before it became clear which kids were staying and which were not. He quickly flew in front of the group of slow pokes, and they all stopped.

"Sorry guys, but you're cut. Try again next year, or something!" Harry said as politely as he could manage. The forty or so kids frowned, swore, even cried, but slowly descended down to the ground and left the pitch. Harry signaled to the remaining 20 or so kids, and they circled around him. He signaled down to Draco, Susan, Vincent, and Gregory, who quickly flew up with several quaffles under their arms.

"All right, I'd like you all to partner up and practice passing," Harry said. The quaffles were handed out, and Harry flew over next to his team to watch the remaining kids try passing.

"Anyone especially good?" he muttered to the others.

"Well... that boy over there seems to have a good arm," Draco said, pointing to a large, husky boy who managed to fling the quaffle about 20 yards through the air. His partner barley managed to catch it, and when she threw it back he just sat there on his broom and watched it drop to the ground.

"But apparently he's missing a brain," Susan noted, causing Harry and the others to laugh. After ten minutes of passing, Harry managed to cut ten more people, leaving the ten left hovering in the air across from Harry and his team.

"Now you lot are the lucky ones. You get to practice flying, passing, scoring, and dodging bludgers all at once!" Harry said. "Partner up, take the quaffle, and pass back and fourth across the field. Manage to dodge all the bludgers, not drop it, fly steadily, and score on good ol' Draco over here... well... you'll get a good mark," Harry said winking. The remaining kids shrugged and were off.

Harry watched as each pair of kids went. He let them go several times, tallying up how many times they scored, missed, got hit, or dropped the quaffle. When he had had enough, he called a stop to the try-outs and waved for Draco to come over.

"All right then you lot. Wait for just a few moments while I speak with my team, and then we should have our two new players!" Harry said smiling. The other ten returned the smile with nervous grins. Harry turned and flew over to the rest of his team.

"So who shall we pick?" Harry said, glancing over his shoulder at the nervous group hovering across the pitch.

"Well, who scored the best?" Vincent asked. Harry held out the sheet of paper.

"Oh well this should be an easy pick," Susan said, looking over the paper and crossing her arms. "Look how well those two scored compared with everyone else! Geez Potter, I can't believe you even had to ask us," Susan said jokingly, grabbing the paper and letting it fall to the ground far below.

"Well I think we should all be a united team and make decisions as one..." Harry started.

"Get over there Potter!" Susan said impatiently. "The kids are waiting!" She shoved him gently, and he turned and flew back over to the kids, flanked by the rest of the team.

"All right then guys, we've decided on our two new chasers," Harry said. "You all did great, and you should be proud of making it this far. If you are one of the ones that don't make the team, then be aware that you may be called on to fill in for anyone who gets sick or injured..."

"On with it Potter," Susan whispered in Harry's ear. "They're going to burst, look at them!" Harry glanced over at the nervous ten hovering in the air, and he let out a chuckle.

"All right, all right. Our two new chasers are Zacharias Smith and Luna Lovegood! The rest of you, thanks for coming!" The eight who hadn't managed to make the cut floated dejectedly to the ground.

"Don't worry! Try again next year!" Draco called down to them.

"Uh... hey mate, I don't think you're helping," Susan said, nudging him in the side. Draco laughed.

"Oh yeah, right. I'll shut up now," Draco said, smiling sheepishly. "Well congratulations to you two then! Welcome to the team!" Draco said, flying over to Zacharias and Luna, Harry shortly behind him.

"Yeah, you two did great," Harry said. "Practices are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from eight to ten," Luna nodded eagerly, her bright blue eyes shining. Zacharias, however, made a face.

"And that's a consistent time, right? Because I'm president of S.C.A.T., and I can't afford to miss too many meetings..." Zacharias started.

"Oh don't go worrying your bloody head off. Scat'll be fine," Luna said, putting a hand on Zacharias' shoulder. "We're lucky to even HAVE this opportunity!" she said dreamily. Zacharias smiled.

"You're right, sorry," he said, grinning half-heartedly at the other team members. Harry smiled slowly.

"All right then! Glad you all made the team and... we'll see you on Monday! If you have any questions, just ask!" Harry said, grinning mildly. The seven kids descended to the ground, dismounted, and headed back to the castle. About halfway there, Pansy caught up with Draco and Harry.

"Hey, I saw the try outs! Good choice, I thought Luna and Zacharias did the best out of everyone too," Pansy said. "Gryffindor's sure to win again this year with you lot on the team!"

"I sure hope so," Harry said, smiling slowly.

"That Zacharias kid is a prat though," Draco said. "I mean... president of scat? Like anyone is even IN that sad excuse for a club..."

"The Society for Concentrated and Attentive Teens? That focus group?" Pansy asked.

"Yeah, whatever you call it," Draco said, swatting the air with his hand. "Who would even WANT to be in a focus group?"

"Luna and Zacharias... and some others," Pansy said. "They DO get good grades! I've heard that meditation they do is very good. Helps clear the mind,"

"As long as it doesn't interfere with the team, I don't see any problems," Harry said shrugging.

"Well I think you picked the right kids," Pansy started, but stopped short. Up ahead and approaching fast was a group of seven kids, all wearing long emerald-green robes. At the head of the group was a tall, lanky boy with firey red hair and a scowl on his face.

"Hey Potter! Realize how much your team sucks yet?" Ron Weasley called, stopping a few feet away from Harry. The other six Slytherins with him guffawed loudly.

"Get out of here Weasley," Draco said scowling.

"Ooh, you hear that mates? The blood traitor's trying to scare me!" Ron said, waving his hands around and making a face.

"Bug off," Harry said calmly. Ron stopped and scowled.

"See you on the pitch, Potty," he shot, his eyes narrowing. He walked past Harry, managing to bump shoulders rather crudely. The other Slytherins laughed and continued down to the pitch behind Ron.

"Ugh, he is such scum... are you all right Harry?" Pansy asked, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just Weasley..." Harry said, shaking his head. "And what's the worst that he could ever do?" Harry shrugged, running a hand through his hair. Draco and Pansy exchanged nervous glances, and looked back at Harry.

"Nothing mate," Draco said, slapping Harry on the back. "Now... what do you think we'll be having for lunch today...?"

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Later that night in the common room, one of Zacharias Smith's friends set about throwing a congratulations party. At one point Zacharias was put on a group of his friends' shoulders, who promptly began chanting "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow". Luna just sat smiling in a chair by the fire, accepting the congratulations that came her way.

"I really don't see what the big deal is. They're acting like Zacharias was elected king or something," Pansy noted, taking a swig of butterbeer. She, Harry, and Draco sat in a corner watching the festivities, only being occasionally bothered by Zacharias' friends telling Harry he made an "excellent choice!"

"Because next year this means Zacharias will probably be captain of the quidditch team," Draco said moodily.

"Is that bad?" Pansy asked.

"Well... if you're not a Zacharias fan. He's the sort of bloke who'll go and get all of his friends on the team, whether they suck or not," Draco said. "Which will completely spoil Gryffindor's chances for next year..."

"But what about Luna? Why won't she be captain?" Pansy asked.

"No one said she wouldn't. Everyone just assumes Zacharias will because he's just a tad better than her," Draco said shrugging.

"I don't think so," Harry said quietly. "From what I saw at the try-outs, they're exactly the same. Unfortunately for Zacharias, Luna has more focus, even though they're both in that scat club or whatever..."

"Speaking of scat, I asked Millicent Bullstrode about it today at dinner. She said it's great fun and very helpful for studies," Pansy said, sipping her butterbeer thoughtfully.

"Your point...?" Draco asked, looking at her intently.

"I uh... went ahead and signed us all up to be members," she said, taking a big gulp of butterbeer.

"You... WHAT?" Draco almost shouted. "Pansy, are you bloody insane? Me and Harry have quidditch! And schoolwork! We don't have TIME for a bloody focus group!"

"Well I figured it would help us with our studies, seeing as we need all the help we get. It _is_ our N.E.W.T. year, in case you've forgotten!" Pansy shot, crossing her arms.

"Yeah but..." Draco stuttered. "Harry, what do you think?" he asked breathlessly, turning to Harry. Harry took a gulp of butterbeer and then looked back and fourth between his two friends.

"I see no problem with it," he said quietly.

"Aw, bloody hell!" Draco swore, throwing his arms up in the air. He looked from Pansy to Harry and back again, as if to make sure they weren't playing some kind of nasty trick on him. Pansy raised her eyebrows.

"So you'll do it?" she asked, looking intently at him. Draco let out a big breath of air.

"All right, I'll do it," he said, sighing heavily.

"Great! Thanks you guys!" she said, putting down her empty butterbeer glass and hugging Draco and Harry. "First meeting's tomorrow after dinner. And you don't need to bring anythig, so don't worry! Now I'm off to bed. See you all in the morning," Pansy said, waving good bye.

"Night Pansy," Harry and Draco said, as she turned and walked up the stairs to the girls dormitory. Draco sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"The things I do for my friends. That should be _me_ up there instead of Zacharias, you know?" Draco said, motioning to Zacharias, who was still being spun around on the shoulders of several of his friends.

"Hey, sorry mate. I don't think me and Pansy could lift you up like that... I mean, unless you want me to try that levitating charm again," Harry said, smiling devilishly.

"Ah! No! No... forget it," Draco said, laughing nervously. "You know, I think I'm going to go to bed. This whole congratulations party is just kind of making me... sick. Night Harry," Draco said quickly, turning and hurrying up the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

"Night Draco," Harry said, stifling a laugh. He leaned back in his chair and surveyed the party. It was getting late, and at least half of the kids had already retired to bed. Harry had thought to do the same, but he didn't feel like moving. Yet.

"Hey Harry... I mean... Captain!" A voice said from behind Harry. He turned around to face Luna Lovegood.

"Oh hey Luna. And uh… you can just call me Harry," Harry said with a small laugh. Luna sat down opposite Harry, her blue eyes wide.

"I didn't get to properly thank you properly for giving me this wonderful opportunity! I mean... I honestly wasn't sure I even wanted to _risk _trying out, what with all the broom hexing and all. And I'm not surprised you picked Zacharias, he's excellent! No one would dare hex him because he's the hope for our team! Other than you, I mean," Luna said, smiling nervously.

"We'll see," Harry said raising an eyebrow. Luna smiled, and absentmindedly brushed some of her long blonde hair away from her eyes.

"Well... that's all I had to say. Thanks again. Oh, and I heard you joined S.C.A.T.?" Luna said, slowly standing up.

"Oh yeah. You're a part of that too, aren't you?" Harry asked. Luna nodded. "Well then, I guess I'll see you at tomorrow's meeting,"

"Sure thing!" Luna said, smiling widely. "See you then Harry," she said, descending the stairs to the girl's dormitory.

"See you Luna," Harry called, standing up from his chair. He stretched and glanced from the small mob still cheering on Zacharias, to the stairs. He knew the mob would try to stop him if he got near to them, but he had to risk it. Harry managed to make it to the second step before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Harry! Hey, Harry!" Zacharias said merrily. Harry whirled around to face him.

"Hey... Zacharias... I was just on my way to..." Harry started.

"I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am, for, you know, practically being made quidditch captain for next year! It's like... a total honor," Zacharias said, patting Harry on the back. The small mob of Zacharias' friends cheered loudly. "Anyway, that's all I had to say. Thanks again mate!" Zacharias clapped Harry on the back one more time.

"See you..." Harry said, quickly turning and hurrying up the stairs before Zacharias could get at him again. The cheers of Zacharias' friends followed Harry all the way up the stairs. Once safe inside his dorm, Harry collapsed onto his bed. Vincent, Gregory, Draco, and Blaise were already sound asleep, and Harry figured he might as well try to sleep too. As he lay still, his eyes drooping, Harry wondered if he had made the right choice in picking Zacharias. Sure he was an excellent player but... he hadn't thought personalities would be a problem. He wondered if Susan would mind Zacharias. After all, she'd be working with him the most. For some reason, Harry just couldn't see the both of them getting a long well. And that... was a problem! But maybe Luna could keep the peace... she seemed like a level headed girl. Yeah, that's what would happen! Luna would keep the peace while Zacharias and Susan scored a load of points for Gryffindor... and then he would catch the snitch and end the game... and the crowd would cheer…

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**Hey thanks for the reviews! My chappies are steadily getting longer, as you can tell Hope you're still likin' the fic, and I'll post again soon! Don't forget to review! Thankies!**


	7. SCAT

**Chapter 7: S.C.A.T.**

"I can't believe you convinced me to go to this..." Draco muttered the next evening. Pansy, Harry, and Draco stood outside the door to the classroom where S.C.A.T. met every Sunday evening.

"To late to turn back now mate," Harry said, as Pansy ignored Draco's remarks and pushed open the door. The smell of sweet cinnamon incense hit Harry like a ten ton truck. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, and looked around. The room was pleasantly warm, and covered in soft poofs, chairs, couches, and cushions. Several students sat around already, waiting for the class to begin. Harry noticed Zacharias Smith sitting on a poofy couch, his arm around a pretty Gryffindor fifth-year girl. He looked almost like a king, sitting there at the head of the class, surveying everyone.

"Looks like Zacharias DOES appeal to females..." Pansy said as she, Draco, and Harry took a seat on three poofs to the left of the classroom.

"Yeah right, I bet he paid her," Draco said, stifling a laugh. The classroom slowly began to fill up, and soon there were roughly seventy kids inside.

"Draco, I thought you said nobody was in this club..." Harry said, raising his eyebrows.

"I um... lied?" Draco said, biting his lip. Pansy raised her eyebrows. "You made me come here!" Draco said frantically, crossing his arms. Harry laughed.

"Chill out mate," Harry said, slapping Draco's back.

"Yeah, we came here to _meditate_ not hyperventilate," Pansy said with a laugh. Draco scowled and muttered something Harry couldn't hear.

"Hello Harry," said a dreamy voice in his ear. Harry whirled to face Luna Lovegood, who had taken a seat on the poof next to him.

"Oh, hello Luna," Harry said smiling.

"Your first S.C.A.T. class? Well I'm sure you'll like it," Luna said, crossing her legs and breathing deeply. "Zacharias and Professor Riddle do a _splendid_ job of making us all feel relaxed,"

"Did you just say Professor Ri...!" Draco nearly shouted, but was broken off by someone clearing their throat.

"Good evening class!" said a silky voice from the doorway of the classroom. Professor Riddle stood there, his piercing eyes looking over the students. He swished to the front of the classroom and stood beside Zacharias. "I see we have some new faces," He said, nodding at several kids around the room.

"You knew... you KNEW! I can't believe this Pansy..." Harry heard Draco shooting angrily at Pansy.

"What? What is the _problem_ Draco?" Pansy shot back, trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible.

"Pansy it's RIDDLE, every girl in the school's FANTASY. This is obviously the only reason you came here. Why you dragged me and Harry I don't know," Draco murmered angrily.

"That is NOT why we came here and you know it," Pansy hissed. Draco smirked.

"Yeah, and Riddle isn't the most gorgeous guy on the planet," Draco hissed back.

"I AM NOT HERE FOR HIM, DRACO!" Pansy shouted, standing up quickly, her face turning red. Everyone turned to look at Pansy and Draco. Realizing she had just shouted, Pansy sunk back down to her poof, her face a deep crimson. Several snickers ran through the classroom.

"And that is why S.C.A.T. is such a wonderful place to come! To get all your anger out in a non-violent way," Riddle said, arcing his eyebrows and looking at Pansy. "But, I'm sorry Miss Parkinson, the shouting as exertion class isn't for several more weeks. I'm afraid we're still on scents and relaxation," Riddle said smoothly.

"S - sorry Professor. It won't happen again," Pansy murmured, her face becoming redder.

"No problem. Now, onto the various scents we have here," Riddle said, turning to Zacharias and conjuring up a tray with several sticks of incense balanced on it. "President Smith will kindly light the various scents while the rest of you go into the silent sight level. For those of you who don't remember how to get there... just lean back, breathe IN through your nose and out through your mouth, close your eyes, and relax every part of your body bit by bit," Riddle instructed. Draco sighed angrily, and Pansy shot him an angry look out of the corner of her still red-tainted face. Harry just shrugged and leaned back on his poof.

He closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly. The room became deathly silent, and Harry became lost in thought. The first scent that came to him was lemony smelling, and almost immediately sprials of yellow flew through Harry's minds eye. At first he thought it was somewhat like the sun... but then he realized it was the snitch! And there he was, flying across the pitch to catch it! The crowd was in the background cheering, but he could not hear them. It was just him and the small yellow spiral. His hands were nearly to it when all of a sudden the world went black, as if someone had hit a giant switch. The smell of licorice faded into Harry's senses, and he saw himself standing in the dark on a dirt path, looking back and fourth. At one end was Draco, Pansy, Hogwarts castle, and the rest of his friends. At the other was pitch blackness. They beckoned for Harry to come, but he hesitated. He wanted to see what was in the blackness. But before he could make up his mind the scene exploded in a bright white light, and the smell of vanilla filled him. Harry felt giddy all of a sudden, and he watched himself pull at least ten back flips across the empty white plain. All of a sudden Susan Bones appeared in front of him, smiling. Harry stopped, and blushed. She began to speak, but Harry could hear no words. Then she reached toward him and gently stroked his face, but he couldn't feel a thing. Harry was about to speak, when all of a sudden the vast white plain turned into the deep blue ocean, and Susan was lost beneath it while Harry stood on top, the smell of sea salt filling his lungs. He looked around him, frantically trying to find her, but it was just blue water as far as the eye could see. He called her name, but could not hear himself yelling. He turned about, this way and that, until all of a sudden an island appeared. On its sandy shores stood Ron and Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom. They all seemed to be in a panic, and were motioning towards him with great worry, but he couldn't hear them. He started towards them, but before he could get farther, he sunk into the ocean and was lost in the blinding darkness...

Harry's eyes snapped open. He was breathing heavily, and a cold sweat had formed on his head. Draco, Pansy, and Luna were sitting up beside him, Luna and Pansy chatting and Draco scowling.

"Well that was weird," Harry said, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"That was a bloody joke. I just wasted at two hours of my time," Draco said frowning.

"Wait... two hours? We've been laying here for two hours?" Harry started, and then stopped.

"Yeah, what a waste," Draco said frowning. "If I wanted a nap I would've just gone up to my bed,"

"Ah, but Mr. Malfoy that was no nap. In fact, no one in this room actually went to sleep," Professor Riddle stood above them, smiling widely.

"Well I sure as hell didn't..." Draco muttered.

"It was just a simple method of relaxation using incense to calm the internal mind. You weren't sleeping. It's more like you were thinking with your eyes closed," Riddle said.

"But why did it feel so quick?" Harry asked, scratching his head.

"Ah, excellent question Mr. Potter," Riddle said, his eyes shining. "The subconscious is mysterious indeed. Even I do not know why things feel so quick. Perhaps you were thinking longer thoughts, but only caught a small portion of them. You did, in fact, dream in a sense, did you not?"

"Oh... yeah, I guess I was sort of dreaming," Harry said slowly.

"Hence the deeper questions in the mysteries of the human mind," Riddle said, backing up slowly. "Good night students," Riddle turned and exited through the door of the classroom. Draco snorted after Riddle had disappeared.

"Sit here for two hours and then that's the end of class. What a joke," Draco frowned.

"You didn't dream? At all?" Pansy said, astounded.

"NO! I just sat there, feeling like a bloody idiot the whole time," Draco said.

"You should've relaxed more, that's the key to this class. Relaxation..." Pansy started, but Draco stopped her.

"Yeah, relaxing in the presence of Riddle, what a dream," Draco said, standing up.

"Draco, STOP IT! I'm not in love with RIDDLE!" Pansy said. Luckily this time the classroom was nearly empty - almost all the students had left.

"Oh yeah? Then who are you in love with?" Draco said, his eyes narrowing. Pansy faltered, and the color began to rise in her cheeks.

"I... it's... NOT IMPORTANT!" Pansy said flushing, her hands tightening into fists. Draco raised his eyebrows. "God Draco, you're just so... stupid sometimes!" Pansy said, throwing up her hands and storming out of the classroom. Luna and Harry looked from the classroom door to Draco.

"Hey mate... best you cool it on the Riddle factor. I really don't think Pansy has a thing for Riddle... and if she does, what's it matter?" Harry said slowly. Draco's hands tightened and he looked down at the floor.

"I... uh... I mean, come on. It's obvious..." Draco faultered. "I... I'll see you later Harry, Luna," Draco nodded at the floor, and quickly walked out of the classroom. Harry sighed deeply.

"This same thing happened just a few days ago. I don't understand what's with him and Pansy and Riddle..." Harry said shrugging.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think those two were an old married couple," Luna said dreamily. She turned to face Harry. "Good night, captain," she said smiling, her blue eyes shining. Luna turned and headed for the classroom door, her long blonde hair floating around her like a heavenly cloak.

"Good night... Luna," Harry faltered. And there he was, left standing in the middle of the empty classroom, feeling rather dense. He looked from the left to the right, scratched his head, shrugged, and then exited the classroom.

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The next day passed by uneventfully, and Harry was grateful to finally make it outdoors for quidditch practice later that night. He and Draco walked down to the pitch, their brooms balanced over their shoulders.

"I hope the Slytherins are out of there. I don't need Weasley's cheek this late at night," Draco said wearily. Harry shrugged, knowing that the Slytherin team would make it as difficult as possible to give up the pitch. He absentmindedly wondered why he hadn't tried to reserve the pitch earlier, but his thoughts were lost as he and Draco approached the pitch.

"Times up Weasley! Give us the pitch!" said an angry voice.

"Make me, pipsqueak," Ron's voice echoed. Draco and Harry exchanged nervous looks and quickened their pace. There, in the middle of the pitch stood a very distraught looking Zacharias Smith, flanked by a nervous Luna Lovegood. Ron Weasley, who had at least 7 or 8 inches on Zacharias, stood scowling infront of him. He was flanked by the rest of the Slytherin quidditch team.

"He's right Weasley, get off the pitch," Harry said, quickly rushing to Zacharias' aide.

"Oh well if it isn't Potty? Well I better bugger off then," Ron said smirking. The other Slytherins guffawed.

"Come on Weasley, it's our turn to practice. Get off the pitch," Draco said, his eyes narrowing.

"Ooh, the blood traitor says to GO so we better GO!" Ron said. "Whatever GryffinDORKS. You can have the pitch, but we'll be the ones with the quidditch cup at the end of the season," Ron smirked, and walked by Harry on his way out, making sure to bump shoulders rather roughly. The rest of the Slytherins followed him out. Harry let out a sigh, and leaned on his broom. Susan, Vincent, and Gregory walked into the pitch and stood beside the rest of their team without Harry noticing.

"All right you lot, start warming up. Take some laps around the pitch," Harry said, motioning above him. Zacharias, Luna, Draco, Vincent, and Gregory took off. Harry hadn't expected to see them, so he whirled around and came face to face with Susan.

"Hi," she said slowly.

"Oh. Hey," Harry said. He scratched his head nervously, and looked from his broom to the ground and back to Susan.

"I just wanted to tell you that... uh... um... I'll get along fine with Zacharias," Susan said quickly, looking up at Harry.

"Oh. Okay, great," Harry said, clapping his hands together. Susan nodded, and then took off into the air on her broom. Harry blinked. _What the bloody hell was that all about?_ Harry thought. He shrugged and took off into the air to fly alongside his teammates.

After the warm up Harry had Vincent and Gregory hit bludgers while the rest of the team practiced dodging. Zacharias and Luna managed to dodge every bludger with ease, and he was pleased that he had picked them. But when they tried to practice scoring on Draco...

"No Luna, the correct technique is as follows," Zacharias said to her. He arced back and sent the quaffle flying towards Draco at an alarming rate. Draco managed to knock the quaffle away, but just barely. He was almost knocked off his broom in the process.

"Zacharias, you don't need to show me how to shoot a quaffle. I already know how!" Luna said indignantly.

"Oh yeah? Then prove it!" Zacharias said, raising his eyebrows. Luna frowned, and took a quaffle in her hands, and threw it at Draco. He managed to block Luna's too, but he didn't get almost knocked off his broom. Zacharias smirked.

"Just because I'm not out to kill the keeper doesn't mean I can't throw the quaffle," Luna said angrily.

"Let's just hope I don't cut you from the team next year," Zacharias said, rolling his eyes. Luna looked like she was about to haul off and punch Zacharias right off his broom, but she turned and flew across the field, as far away from Zacharias as she could get.

"Hey, Zachie, quit picking on her!" Susan said, flying over to Zacharias.

"What do you mean picking? I was just giving her some tips..." Zacharias said innocently.

"Well your tips suck," Susan said, looking Zacharias up and down.

"Oh, like you're any better?" Zacharias shot back.

"Well, seeing as I've been on the team a lot longer than you, yeah I think so," Susan said, her eyes narrowing.

"But you didn't make captain, did you?" Zacharias said, a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Neither did you," Susan said plainly. Zacharias frowned, his smirk disappearing.

"Well... I will!" He said airily, turning and flying away from Susan, busying himself with throwing quaffles at Draco. Susan just rolled her eyes, and Harry flew over.

"I thought you were going to get along fine with Zacharias," Harry said jokingly.

"Oh I am," Susan said smiling airily.

"You are?" Harry said, sounding a bit surprised.

"Yeah. I didn't punch his face in or knock him off his broom, so I'd say I'm getting along with him splendidly," Susan said, smiling innocently and throwing a quaffle toward Draco. Harry laughed.

"Well in that case, keep it up. You and him will be best friends in no time," he joked. Susan laughed, and threw another quaffle.

"For sure. Pretty soon we'll just be like two peas in a pod. Like… uh… peanut butter and jelly!" Susan said. She glanced across the field to Zacharias, who was showing off by trying to throw two quaffles at once. Luna sat scowling on her broom, looking from her quaffle to Zacharias. "Uh oh... I think she's gonna peg him!" Susan said, quickly flying off towards Luna. Harry laughed again, and leaned back on his broom. So it looked like it would be Luna and Zacharias at each other's throats and Susan keeping the peace... but neither of the girls liked Zacharias. How convenient. _Well, maybe he'd change._

"No, no Luna not like that! You're supposed to continue _flying_! Don't stop or they'll hit you with a BLUDGER!" Harry heard Zacharias yelling frantically. Harry shook his head. _Or maybe not_... Despite Zacharias' control issues, Harry was still sure he had made the right choice. He was confident his team would do well and maybe win the cup... If they didn't kill each other first!

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Hey hope you liked this chappie! I'm getting to the better parts slowly but surley, so hang in there! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE R&R! It means a lot! Thankies!


	8. Trelawney's Announcement

**Chapter 8: Trelawney's Announcement**

The rest of September passed by uneventfully. The Gryffindor Quidditch team continued to get better and better with each practice, and the fighting amongst teammates had become less and less. Zacharias, Luna, and Susan all seemed to be getting along fairly well now. Harry was certain they'd win their first match against Hufflepuff next month, and hopefully continue to win their next matches.

Harry, Draco, and Pansy had continued going to S.C.A.T. every Sunday evening, despite Draco's displeasure of spending more time in the presence of Professor Riddle than he thought necessary. But when Draco finally managed to dream one lesson, he decided it _was_ a worthwhile class after all. Pansy and Harry had not asked what Draco had dreamed of - they were just glad he had decided to stay.

It was now the second week of October, and Harry, Draco, and Pansy sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall eating their dinner. The ceiling in the hall was dark and starlit, a beautiful clear night. Draco and Pansy were talking animatedly about homework, and Harry just watched, poking at the mashed potatoes on his plate.

"Really, I think Professor Binns gives us the least homework. I mean, it's herbology, how much homework can you get from plants?" Draco shrugged.

"Well it's true Binns gives least homework, but I think it's because he's just grateful that the plants can't kill him anymore, and he's kindhearted enough not to let any of us spend to much time around them," Pansy said.

"Too bad for that bloke in Hufflepuff... what's his name? The boy who's only good subject is herbology," Draco stuttered.

"Neville. Neville Longbottom," Harry said, surprising himself. How had he known that? He hadn't even said two words to Neville all year! There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Yeah... right. Neville Longbottom, that's the fellow," Draco said, quickly stuffing his mouth with potatoes.

"Good evening, students," A mysterious voice called from the front of the great hall. Every head in the hall turned to face the teacher's table, and Headmistress Trelawney, who was standing up. Her large glasses shone bright against the bright stars in the evening sky. "An announcement I have for you all! As you know, Halloween is just three weeks! I know how much you kids all love your Halloween, so there is to be a dance for everyone! First through Fourth years will have their dance on the 30th, and Fifth through Seventh years will have their dance on the 31st! Now I hope 3 weeks is enough for you lot to get up enough guts to ask your crush to the dance and whatnot," Trelawney said with a laugh. "Oh, and I'd like to thank our wonderful dance committee for keeping this all a secret for the past week! Will you lot stand, please?" Trelawney said. Draco and Harry's jaws dropped as Pansy and Zacharias stood, along with two other kids from each of the other house tables. A ragged applause filled the hall. "They'll be sure to make this Halloween dance a spooky success!" Trelawney said with a laugh. "Have a pleasant evening!" Pansy sunk back to the bench, and helped herself to a piece of the raspberry pie that had appeared on the table. When she noticed that Draco and Harry were watching her with their jaws dropped, she raised her eyebrows.

"What? Do I have raspberry on my face?" Pansy asked, pointing at herself.

"Oh... no, no!" Harry and Draco said, snapping back to their senses.

"We just... uh," Harry stumbled.

"Didn't know you'd be on a dance committee. Ever," Draco said.

"And why ever would I not?" Pansy said, taking another bite of pie.

"Well, last dance we had, you threw a hissy fit because it was a sadie hawkins type, and you thought that was sexist or something..." Draco started.

"But it's not sadie hawkins this time, is it?" Pansy said, smiling triumphantly.

"Oh... yeah, I suppose not," Draco shrugged.

"Besides, Zacharias asked me to be on the committee," Pansy said casually.

"What? Why?" Draco asked, almost dropping the piece of pie he had halfway to his plate.

"Oh, I don't know. He said I had good organization skills... that good grades and being a member of S.C.A.T. helped... and that I'm a bloody good dancer," Pansy said the last bit as almost an after note.

"Wha...?" Draco trailed off. "So... you're going with Zacharias to the dance?" Draco almost shouted.

"Me? What? Heavens no, he's going with his girlfriend Mathilde, of course. I haven't a date yet, and I didn't think it right to even consider whom to take before the announcement tonight," Pansy said, finishing off the last bit of her pie.

"Oh..." Draco said slowly.

"Well then, who are you taking?" Harry asked slyly, looking between his two friends.

"Me? I... uh..." Pansy looked from Harry to Draco, and back down at her empty plate. "What's it matter? Now, I'm off to bed... uh... see you later!" Pansy said, not even looking up at Harry and Draco. Somehow Harry knew Pansy's face was flushed right about now.

"Who are you asking?" Harry said, turning to Draco. His friend blinked several times, a blank expression on his face.

"Uh... who're you asking?" Draco retorted, the color rising in his cheeks.

"I don't know yet, haven't given it much thought," Harry said shrugging.

"Good, neither have I," Draco said. "Now come on, we better go get a move on that potions homework, McGonagoll will have a fit if it's not perfect for tomorrow's lesson," Draco said. He and Harry walked off to the Gryffindor common room, not mentioning a word about the dance for the rest of the night.

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The tension between Hogwarts students the next few weeks were extremely high, higher than they had been during the Gryffindor team tryouts. Girls were fighting over which boy they would get to go with, and the boys were quarreling over which girl they would take. Draco, Harry, and Pansy still hadn't found a date to the dance yet, and Harry was beginning to think he _never_ would. It was less than a week until dance time, and he hadn't a date.

He had been trying to get Draco and Pansy to ask each other, discreetly of course, but each time they got close to the subject, they would both flush and change the subject. That evening in the Gryffindor common room, Harry was determined to find a date for all three of them, using force if he had to. However, things didn't go quite the way he had imagined them.

"So, find a date to the dance yet?" Draco said casually, not looking up from his parchment.

"Nope, not yet," Harry and Pansy answered.

"Oh, what a coincidence, neither have I!" Draco said. _Well he certainly has tact_... Harry thought, stifling a laugh. There was silence for a moment, and Harry watched as Draco slowly looked up at Pansy, his mouth open as if he was about to speak, when all of a sudden there was a shriek.

"NO ZACHARIAS IT'S OVER! JUST BUGGER OFF ALREADY!" The fifth year girl whom Harry recognized as Zacharias' girlfriend, stood halfway up the girl's dormitory stairs, frowning maliciously.

"Mathilde! Wait!" Zacharias said, trying to climb the stairs after her. Mathilde shrieked louder as the stairs turned into a slide, and she went flying into Zacharias, the two crumbling to the floor at the foot of the stairs.

"You pig!" Mathilde shrieked, slapping Zacharias hard across the face. "Now stay away from me!" Mathilde frantically scrambled up to the girl's dormitory, the stairs returning. Zacharias lay crumpled on the floor. Some scattered laughter traveled through the common room. Two of Mathilde's friends hurried up after her, casting dirty words and looks at Zacharias.

"Oh, poor Zacharias," Pansy said, slowly standing. "I better go see if he's okay," she said quickly, hurrying over to the crumpled form of Zacharias. Draco sunk back into his chair with a sigh, and Harry had to stifle a laugh.

"Too bad for Zacharias. Looks like he'll have to find a new date!" A rather cheery voice said from above Harry. Susan Bones stood smiling infront of him.

"Oh! Hey Susan!" Harry said flushing.

"Hey Harry, Draco," Susan said, nodding at the hunched figure of Draco, who only grunted a reply.

"Sooo... what's up?" Harry said, trying to act casual.

"Well," Susan said, taking a seat across from Harry. "I was wondering... if... uh... you had a date for the Halloween dance? And if you don't, would you like to go with me?" she said in a rush, looking down at the floor. Harry felt his heart skip a beat, and for a moment he was at a loss for words. "Because if you do, it's okay, I mean I'll just ask someone else..." Susan said quickly.

"No, I don't have a date. And uh... yeah I'd love to go with you," Harry said. Susan looked up from the floor, her face flushed and grinning.

"Okay... great!" Susan said. Harry smiled as Susan reached across and hugged him. He felt his face flush. "Well, I'm off to bed. See you later!" Susan said smiling, and winking at Harry.

"See you!" Harry said, smiling back at her. He watched as Susan climbed the stairs up to the girls' dormitory, a silly grin on his face.

"There's some drool on your chin, mate," Draco said, snapping Harry out of his reverie.

"What?" Harry asked, turning to face Draco, who was near to laughter.

"Well looks like you have a date," Draco said, patting Harry on the shoulder.

"Yeah... I guess I do!" Harry said, still a bit dumbfounded. Just then Pansy came back over, her face pink.

"How's Zachie boy?" Draco asked casually.

"Fine... and so am I," Pansy sighed. Harry raised his eyebrows.

"While you were off helping Zachie, Harry got a date!" Draco said lightly.

"Oh he did, did he?" Pansy said, smiling. Draco nodded, and Harry just grinned. "Well he's not the only one..." Pansy murmured.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked slowly.

"I'm going with Zacharias! He asked me... just now, and I just said yes!" Pansy said, flushing pink all over again. A slight frown creeped over Draco's face, and his mouth twitched.

"That's... that's bloody brilliant," Draco said quietly. "I'm off to bed... good night," he said, quickly gathering his things and almost running up to the dorms.

"What's with him?" Pansy asked, looking after Draco.

"No idea," Harry said dreamily. Pansy shrugged.

"So who are you going to the dance with?" she asked.

"Susan Bones. She just... asked me out of nowhere," Harry said smiling.

"That's great Harry," Pansy said grinning. "Looks like Draco's the only one who's dateless now," she sighed. "Well I think... he'll find someone," she said slowly, an odd look crossing her face.

But Harry could hardly tell his friends' emotions... he was still in shock. He was going to the dance with Susan Bones! He wondered if he had liked her all this while, or if it had just started when she had asked him to the dance. No, wait. Now that he thought about it, he had liked her, he just hadn't realized it until now. Another grin crossed Harry's face. He couldn't wait for the dance.

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Ok, this chappie was a bit short, but the next one will be longer, I promise! I hope you like it so far… thanks for the few reviews and keep them coming! I really appreciate the R&R!


	9. The Necklace

A/N: Hey, I finally have a long chapter this time! I hope you guys like it… it took me a few days to write after a period of writers block o.0 I've also been working on a Final Fantasy X-2 fanfic I have in the works. It'll be an action/adventure/romance and have characters from X and X-2. So if you're a fan of these games, definitly check it out, I should be posting the first chapter soon! Now on with _this_ fic…

**Chapter Nine: The Necklace**

"Hey Draco," Harry greeted his friend, who was sitting dejectedly at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. It was the day before the fifth to seventh years Halloween dance, and Draco Malfoy was still dateless. He had been rather withdrawn from the likes of his friends for the past few days, but Harry hadn't really given it much thought until now – his mind had been occupied with thoughts of Susan Bones as of late.

"Hello Harry," Draco said quietly, his shaggy blonde hair dropping in front of his ice blue eyes.

"What's up mate?" Harry asked, sitting down next to his friend, trying to act as casual as possible.

"Breakfast," Draco said blankly, poking some home fries on his plate.

"Ah. Brilliant," Harry said, gloping some potatoes onto his plate. He hadn't the heart to ask Draco to ask what he was going to do about the dance. The two boys sat in silence for a while until they were joined by a cheery looking Pansy.

"Good morning Harry, Draco," she said grinning. Pansy had been just as happy as Harry had to have a date to the dance these past few days, and you could tell she was positively shining – she and Zacharias had been walking around the halls together ever since they agreed to go to the dance with each other those few days ago.

"How are you guys this morning?" Pansy asked, scooping some food onto her plate. Draco just grunted, and Harry glanced up at Pansy.

"Great, just great. How're you?" Harry asked.

"Wonderful. Have you guys seen Zacharias?" Pansy asked. Harry felt Draco slouch down even further in the seat next to him. He couldn't believe Pansy hadn't noticed how depressed Draco was… or maybe she did and she didn't care. But then again, he himself had taken this long to notice anything was really the matter.

"Uh… no I haven't," Harry said slowly.

"Oh, that's okay. It's just, last night he said he had a wonderful surprise for me, and that he'd give it to me today. I guess I'm just eager to know what it is," Pansy said with a laugh. Harry nodded slowly, keeping a grin on his face.

"Well if I see him I'll tell him you've been looking," Harry said. He was surprised Draco hadn't oozed onto the floor by now. All you could see was the top of his blonde head in a sea of midnight black robes. Harry felt like yelling at Pansy for not addressing Draco's obvious state of depression, but what good would that do?

"Good morning!" A cheery voice came from out of nowhere. Harry and Pansy glanced up at the smiling face and bright blue eyes of Luna Lovegood.

"Hi Luna," they answered. She merely nodded at them, and then glanced down at Draco's head.

"Hey… Draco?" Luna said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Draco slowly sat up from his slouched position. He rubbed some color back into his white face, and ran a hair through his hair.

"Hi Luna," Draco said numbly. Luna just smiled at him, her eyes intent.

"Draco, I was wondering if you'd like to go to the dance with me tomorrow," she said, taking a deep breath. "I've been meaning to ask, but I just haven't gotten up the courage or what have you to do it, but I figured today was my last chance and I just couldn't wait any longer so I just woke up this morning and marched down here to find you sitting here and now I just…" Draco stood up and put a finger to Luna's lips. For the first time in a few days the mischievous light returned to his ice blue eyes. Draco removed his finger from Luna's lips, and leaned over and kissed her.

Harry's mouth dropped in a triumphant grin. His friend was back! But this action was so random for him... Maybe Draco had had a crush on Luna all along, and Harry just hadn't noticed.

"I'd love to go to the dance with you Luna," Draco said, pulling away and grinning down at her. Luna's eyes were huge and a smile twitched across her face. She had definitely not been expecting that.

"Great… that's really… I'm so glad you said yes," Luna said in a dreamy tone. Draco put his arm gently around her waist.

"C'mon, I'll walk you to class," he said, smiling widely. Luna just nodded, and the two walked out of the Great Hall. Harry laughed and turned back to face Pansy.

"Well looks like Draco's back to normal then. And just in the knick of time too… I thought he had seriously lost it but…" Harry glanced over at Pansy, who looked like someone had just shot her. Her face was chalk white and her eyes were big.

"Uh… Pansy? You alright?" Harry asked, tilting his head. Pansy snapped back to her senses and looked at Harry.

"Oh yeah… I'm fine. Just a… a bad piece of egg. Good news about Draco and Luna… yeah that's great for them. I have to go Harry, I'll see you later," Pansy said standing up and hurrying out of the Great Hall.

Once again Harry found himself sitting alone, deserted by his two best friends for one reason or another.

"Well this is bloody brilliant," Harry murmured, poking at his food. He hoped that once Pansy saw Zacharias she'd forget about this little mishap. However, he was glad Draco was finally happy. Harry put his head in his hands and sighed. It was going to be a long 48 hours…

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Class remained uneventful for Harry. During History of Magic Susan passed him a note mentioning she wanted to do homework together that night in the common room. Harry had just smiled and agreed to meet her later that night.

For some reason Draco and Pansy didn't come to dinner, so Harry ate with Vincent, Crabbe, and Blaise. When he was finished, he quickly hurried up to common room to meet Susan.

She was sitting at a table in the far corner, her long brown hair pulled back from her face in a neat plait. She grinned when she saw Harry, who hurried over to the table and sat down next to her.

"Hey," they greeted each other. Piles of homework surrounded Susan, and when Harry dumped his homework onto the table things became crowded.

"Just brilliant. They give us all this homework the night before the dance," Harry said, glancing over an astronomy report he had to do.

"Better now than tomorrow night, right?" Susan pointed out. Harry nodded.

"Yeah, that would kind of take the whole point of a dance away if we were stuck in the common room doing homework," Harry said. The two continued to work on their various reports and such, glancing up at each other and asking a few questions every once in awhile. The common room was exceptionally quiet for most of the night, until Pansy came in awhile later. She looked distraught. Her hair was a mess and her robes were wrinkled and dirty. She collapsed in a chair in the middle of the room and sighed heavily.

"Has ANYONE seen Zacharias?" she almost screamed. Everyone in the room looked up from their work and glanced over at her.

"Uh... I thought I saw him awhile ago up in the dorms," said one of the boys who was in Zacharias' year. Pansy rose from the chair in a huff and marched over to the staircase to the boy's dormitories. Just as she reached the foot of the staircase, Zacharias appeared at the top.

"There you are!" Pansy exlclaimed. "I've been looking for you all day! Where have you been?" She said as Zacharias climbed down the stairs and reached her at the bottom. Zacharias glanced around the room and the looked back at Pansy.

"I was getting you this," he said with a grin, producing a slender black box from the folds of his robes. Pansy tilted her head and took the box.

"What is it?" she asked excitedly, pulling away the ribbon and opening the box. Pansy gasped, and the box clattered to the floor. In her hands she held a beautiful ruby and diamond necklace. The jewels sparkled in the lamp light from the tables around the common room. All of the Gryffindors stared, utterly shocked. "Oh, Zacharias... it's beautiful!" Pansy said breathlessly. The necklace consisted of about 20 rubies and diamonds, each alternating colors. In the center was a beautifully sparkling ruby that caught the light and projected its red color onto Pansy's face. "How... where... why... thank you so much... this must have cost a fortune!" Pansy said, at a loss for words. Zacharias just grinned.

"It was nothing," he said.

"And it matches my dress for tomorrow perfectly... how did you know?" Pansy said, looking over the necklace.

"Let's just say a little bird told me," Zacharias grinned. Pansy could do nothing but stand there speechless. Zacharias leaned over and hugged her, and the kids in the common room began to clap. Harry looked around to see if Draco was in the room, but he was nowhere to be found. Harry figured it was for the best Draco had not witnessed this.

"You don't have to get me anything like that, ever," Susan said smiling, touching Harry's arm. He flushed. "You're the best present I could get," Harry just sat there smiling dumbly as Susan turned back to her homework.

For the rest of the evening things remained quiet. Harry hadn't gotten a chance to even say hello to Pansy because just about every girl in the common room was crowded around her, asking to see her necklace up close. Around eleven Susan said good night to Harry and headed upstairs to the girl's dormitories, winking down at him before she disappeared.

Harry spent the next half hour in dreamland... he could hardly concentrate on his homework, and his mind was racing about so many different things... Susan, Pansy, the dance, Draco... just when he was about to go up to the dormitory, he heard the portrait hole swing open. In stumbled Draco and Luna, lips pressed against each other. Their faces were flushed as they blindly made their way across the common room. When they reached the foot of the stairs they finally pulled away from one another and just stood there grinning.

"Today was really great Draco," Luna said. "I can't wait for tomorrow,"

"Neither can I," Draco said with a laugh. The two kissed one last time before saying good night and walking up to their dormitories.

Harry sat frozen at his corner table. They obviously hadn't noticed him, and there was no one else in the whole common room... he wondered if they'd mind that someone knew they'd been out after hours doing who knows what. Harry was just relieved it was he who saw them and not Pansy or one of the prefects. He sighed and waited several more minutes before tip-toeing up to the dormitories for bed. He didn't really want Draco to know he had seen him and Luna.

As Harry lay in bed, he began to wonder if the whole thing was just a dream. _It probably was just a dream_. Harry thought as he drifted off to sleep. By the next morning he had forgotten all about it. There was a new crisis at hand.

"I can't believe it... it's gone!" Pansy sobbed that morning at breakfast. "Zacharias probably spent _galleons_ on that thing and now I've misplaced it!" Harry sat next to Pansy at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. The whole Gryffindor House was awoken early that morning by the shrieks of Pansy and several other girls. Turns out the beautiful ruby and diamond necklace Zacharias had gotten for Pansy had gone missing. Pansy couldn't find it anywhere, and she thought she had misplaced it. Everyone else thought it was stolen.

"Pansy you didn't loose it, it was probably stolen," Harry said, trying to console his friend.

"But who would take it? Everyone in our house is so honest, why would they want to take it?" Pansy said, still unconvinced.

"Sometimes greed can uh... make people act stupid," Harry said, trying to help. Pansy just groaned and collapsed on the table.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Draco slid into the seat across from them, his eyes dancing merrily.

"You haven't heard? The necklace Zacharias got Pansy has gone missing," Harry explained. Pansy just groaned from her slouched position.

"What necklace?" Draco asked. That's when Harry remembered... Draco hadn't been in the common room when Zacharias had given the necklace to Pansy, he had been off with Luna somewhere.

"The beautiful diamond and ruby necklace he got me for the dance," Pansy said, sitting up suddenly. "And everyone says it's been stolen, but I don't know anyone in our house who would do such a thing!" she said angrily, slamming her fist on the table. Draco shrugged and began to scoop food onto his plate as if nothing was the matter.

"Well that's too bad," he said casually. Harry thought Pansy would yell at Draco, but instead she just shrunk back down into her robes again.

"Where's Zacharias?" Harry asked.

"Out looking for clues," Pansy said in a muffled voice.

"Well... don't worry Pansy, I'm sure once the teachers get wind of it they'll use some sort of spell to find it," Harry said. Silence fell over the three of them. Draco ate his food, smiling all the while. Pansy remained in a slouched position, and Harry just sat, his head resting on one of his hands. He didn't understand why things had to get so weird all of a sudden. He and Draco and Pansy were fine, aside from the occaisonal row. But now... ever since the dance, things had been uneasy between his friends. He figured they might have feelings for each other, but if those feelings had existed they were certainly gone now. Harry sighed and wondered if things would ever get back to normal. But then again... what was normal anyway? He hadn't thought about it for a while now, but... he still couldn't remember anything about his past six years at Hogwarts. Harry began to wonder if this was just coincidence or if maybe there _was_ something wrong with him. All of a sudden his thoughts were shattered by a shout.

"Pansy! I found a lead! I FOUND A LEAD!" the excited voice of Zacharias called. It echoed through the Great Hall, and every head turned to face the scene.

"Where?" Pansy said eagerly, standing up.

"From a house elf... he told me there's a small creature that's been prowling the castle, stealing shiny and expensive things at night. He said that the creature has a home in the woods where it stashes all of its belongings. That's probably where the necklace is!" Zacharias said breathlessly.

"Sounds like a load of rubbish to me," Draco said after a moment of silence. "Which house elf did you talk to anyway? The one who thinks the students are attacking the castle?" Draco snorted and rolled his eyes.

"It wasn't him, don't worry," a cool and calm voice said. From behind Zacharias stepped a girl with bushy brown hair and chestnut brown eyes. She was wearing a ravenclaw uniform, and had a book tucked under her arm.

"Hermione!" Harry let the word escape from his mouth. How did he know her? He didn't... did he?

"Uh... yeah. That's my name. I helped Zacharias ask the house elves if they've seen anything mysterious this past night. They're very reliable and very knowledgeable, for your information," Hermione said, directing a dirty look at Draco.

"Right," Zacharias said. "Thanks for your help Hermione, it's been really great," Zacharias turned to Pansy. "Come on, let's go look for the creature's nest," Pansy nodded and took Zacharias' hand. The two hadn't gotten two steps before Hermione stopped them.

"Wait. Do you even know _what_ you're looking for?" she said, raising her eyebrows.

"Uh... yeah... a nest with a bunch of sparkly things in it," Zacharias said. Hermione sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"No, no, no. You're going to need me to come along, otherwise you two will wind up lost," Hermione said. "Is that okay?" Zacharias nodded. The three started for the door, but Pansy turned back and looked over at Harry and Draco.

"You guys come along too! There's no way I could go on an adventure without you," she said with a smile. Harry and Draco were with the group in an instant, and several minutes the party was out in the fresh morning air, crossing the school grounds.

"What about class?" Draco asked, stretching his arms into the air.

"Forget class, this necklace is way more important. It's probably worth more than all of us combined," Pansy said, throwing her hands up.

"Nothing's worth more than you," Zacharias said sweetly, putting his arm around Pansy's waist. Harry glanced over at Draco, who's face remained the same.

"Come on you lot, quit fooling around. The forest is near. Have your wands at the ready. You don't know what we might run into," Hermione said intently. Draco raised his eyebrows.

"How dangerous could these little thieves be?" he asked.

"Well, they're a nocturnal species. Let's just say they'll grow some wicked claws and fangs if we wake them," Hermione said. The group entered the forest, and each teenager hastily pulled out their wands.

"What are these creatures called, anyway?" Pansy asked in a low voice.

"Wemunks. If we happen to wake one, remember to run as fast as possible, we might be able to outrun it," Hermione said. The others nodded. After about half an hour of crunching through the fallen leaves and weaving through the branch covered trees, Hermione finally stopped at a large tree with sweeping branches. The branches had pine needles all over each branch that swept down to the ground.

"Well this is certainly an interesting tree," Pansy said, scratching her head.

"Yes, it's a very rare breed of tree. Wemunks nest in its trunk. The treasure pile should be in the bottom hollow, so one of you needs to crawl under there and retrieve the necklace," Hermione whispered. The teens glanced around at one another, until Pansy stepped foreward.

"I'll get it. It's my necklace and it's my fault it got stolen by a Wemunk. I'll crawl under there and get it," she said. She began to kneel down and part the branches but Zacharias stopped her.

"No way, I'll get it. You're the lady, you should wait," Zacharias said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't we all go get it?" Harry suggested.

"That's a brilliant idea Harry!" Pansy said smiling. "What do you say?" she asked, turning to Zacharias. He nodded.

"You guys have a problem with that?" he asked the rest of the group. They all shook their heads no. "Well then, let's go get the necklace!" The five kids dropped to the ground and began to crawl through the pine needle branches, Zacharias in front.

"How far do these branches go?" Harry asked, pushing aside some pine needles with his arm.

"Anywhere from five to fifty feet. But I'd say this tree is only about twenty," Hermione said from behind him. "Now keep your voices down, we don't want to wake the wemunks," The group continued in silence for about ten more minutes until they finally they reached a small clearing. The massive trunk of the tree stood about four feet infront of them. Between the long coat of branches and the trunk was just the forest floor and some fallen pine needles.

The trunk's roots were thick, and each one was plunged into the ground in such a way that you could crawl into the trunk from between the roots. The kids stood silently for a moment, and could hear nothing from inside the trunk. There was clearly only room for one of them to go down and search for the necklace, but Harry was surprised when Draco threw himself down and was halfway into the base of the trunk in a matter of seconds. Hermione signaled for the others not to move or speak.

It was as if everyone held their breath for the few minutes Draco disappeared into the tree. When he finally reappeared everyone breathed again. His blonde head popped out of the trunk bottom, and so did his hand, necklace clutched in it tightly.

"This it?" He mouthed. Everyone nodded eagerly, and Draco began to crawl out of the tree. He was about halfway out when he bumped his elbow against one of the roots. He let out a moan, and the others winced. Suddenly the tree began to shake. Draco quickly crawled the rest of the way out and looked in horror at the tree.

"Run. Now!" Hermione said frantically. The kids quickly ducked into the branches, pushing them aside as fast as they could. Harry could hear the wemunks swarming behind them. "Just keep going, don't stop!" Hermione's voice said. They were almost out of the branches when Harry heard Draco scream.

"It's got me! They've got me!" He said, his face flushing. He groaned, as Pansy and Harry turned back to see him. "Take the necklace!" Draco said, tossing it ahead of himself, as he was pulled back toward the trunk. Pansy quickly picked up the necklace and tucked it into her robes, but nimbly reached out and grabbed Draco's hand.

"You're not going anywhere Draco," Pansy said, the pine needle branches tangling around her. Harry took Draco's other hand, and he and Pansy pulled as hard as they could. Draco screamed.

"They're... biting me... ow my legs!" He moaned, his face turning red.

"Hold on mate," Harry said, as he and Pansy pulled him harder. "We're almost to the edge of the branches..." With a final tug Pansy and Harry pulled Draco out into the open. The wemunks lost their grip on Draco for just a moment, giving him enough time to stand.

"Draco, your legs!" Pansy said, staring down at his lower half. The bottom of his robes had been chewed off, and his pants had been ripped up to his knees. There were bloody scratch and bite marks all across his legs, and his shoes had been chewed off completely.

"Forget about it, let's move!" Draco said, stumbling ahead. Harry and Pansy each took ahold of his sides, and together the three of them hurried to catch up with Hermione and Zacharias.

"The wemunks will chase us for awhile… so it's best we run... for as long as we can!" Hermione gasped, her feet pounding on the root covered ground. She glanced back at Draco and his bloody legs and feet. "Is he... gonna be able... to make it?"

"Don't worry about me... just keep running!" Draco said, wincing as his bare feet crossed the forest floor. The teens managed to run for about five minutes before collapsing in a clearing.

"Are the... wemunks gone?" Pansy gasped. Hermione looked around and nodded.

"They don't like open spaces in daylight, so I think we'll be safe here," she said, taking a deep breath. The five teens just lay there for several minutes in breathless silence before Zacharias spoke up.

"So did you manage to hold onto the necklace after all that trouble?" he asked. Harry and Draco glanced over at Pansy, who produced the sparkling necklace from her robes.

"Yeah... thanks to Draco," she said, smiling at him.

"It was nothing," he said flushing. A small frown crossed Zacharias' face, and he stood up.

"Well then, we best get you to the hospital wing before you bleed to death," Zacharias said, looking over Draco's wounds. The other kids stood up nodding. Harry removed his shoes and gave them to Draco.

"You better wear these mate," he said, handing him the shoes.

"Aw no way Harry! They'll get all bloody, and you won't have any shoes to wear!" Draco said.

"It's okay, I have another pair up in the dormitory," Harry said, waving his hand. "And I don't mind walking through the forest in my socks... it's not too terrible," he said.

"I just don't want you to miss the dance too, because your feet were damaged," Draco said, looking from the shoes to Harry.

"Missing the dance? Who said anything about that?" Pansy exclaimed.

"I don't know if I'll heal in time for tonight. It's terrible... I don't want to disappoint Luna," Draco said, his face becoming saddened.

"You won't miss the dance Draco, I'm sure of it. Doctor Filch will have you fixed up in no time," Pansy said. "Now come on, let's get going," Draco quickly put on Harry's shoes and stood up, Harry and Pansy each supporting his sides. Together, the five teenagers walked out of the forest and back to Hogwarts castle.

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"Oh Draco I was so worried!" Luna gushed later that day in the hospital wing. Draco sat on the edge of one of the hospital beds, his legs mended back to normal.

"It's okay Luna, I'm fine now. Thanks to Doctor Filch I'll be able to go to the dance tonight!" Draco said, rubbing his cut-free legs. Harry and Luna had come down to the hospital wing to bring Draco back to the common room to get ready for the dance, which started in just a few hours. "Where's Pansy? I haven't seen her since this morning," Draco said.

"She's getting ready for the dance," Luna said airily, glancing at her watch. "And we should be too, it starts in a few hours," Draco nodded.

"Right," he jumped off the bed and stretched a bit. "Thanks again Doctor Filch!" Draco called to the scraggly man, who was measuring some tonic into bottles.

"Just doin' my job kid. Now go have fun at the dance," Filch said, giving a toothy grin. Draco nodded, and together he, Luna, and Harry exited the hospital wing. But as Harry walked down the corrider, he had the sinking feeling that this exciting day wasn't quite over yet... after all, it was Halloween!

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A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! The next one is going to be exciting, and hopefully long -- PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE R&R! It tells me if people are reading this or not, and if I should continue, so it really helps! Thanks


	10. The Dance

**A/N: Phew, it's been AGES since an update, and by ages I mean months 00; I hope you die-hard fans didn't give up on me! School started and I kinda got distracted from fan fiction and blah blah blah… but now that Christmas break is coming up, I figured I'd try to start up again. Since I disappeared from the fanfiction world, I've thought up about three new possible Harry Potter storylines, one action/romance, and the other two humor/parody. I predict this story… I COULD possibly finish it by January if I decide to persist with this, so I hope you all stick with me And without further ado, the next installment of "Forgotten!"**

**Chapter 10: The Dance**

Harry guessed that you could have cut the tension in the air of the Gryffindor common room with a knife. He was almost attempted to pull out his wand and double check, but he decided against it. Almost every boy taking a girl to the dance in years five through seven were mulling around in the common room, waiting. Most of the boys had fought over which girl they would take, or secretly had angry feelings towards the boy who got the girl before they did. Harry wondered if the girls were having this big a problem. He slouched down further in his chair with a sigh.

Draco and Zacharias stood on either side of him, Zacharias glancing at his watch every now and then. Draco seemed a bit more relaxed than Zacharias, but judging by the far-off look in his ice blue eyes, Harry knew there was something big on his friends' mind. Suddenly there were footsteps from the girls' dormitory steps. Every boy in the room practically jumped up, but it turned out to be just a second-year girl on her way to the library.

"Hey, kid, what's taking all the girls up there so long?" Zacharias asked the second-year. The girl shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"I dunno… they must have really killer costumes I guess," she said, continuing on her way out the portrait hole. Zacharias sighed and leaned back against the back of the couch, his flowing black and red velvet Dracula cape flowing around him. He moodily took out his fake fangs and wiped his mouth. Draco crossed his arms, the slight frown on his face half covered by the patch over his right eye that went with his pirate costume. Harry wondered if his friends would be able to move in their costumes. He himself had just worn his qudditch robes and bewitched them to look as if he was on the Chudley Cannons.

After several more minutes of waiting, some girls finally came down the dormitory stairs. They were not Pansy, Luna, or Susan, but at least it gave the boys a sense of relief.

It was Susan who first emerged from the dormitory steps. When Harry caught a glimpse of her, his breath caught in his throat. She was absolutely beautiful. She looked nothing like the tom-boyish girl who was a star chaser on the qudditch team. Susan was dressed as a woodland fairy. She had a forest-green colored short-skirted outfit. She had translucent green wings protruding from her back, and had cast a charm that made sparkles float around her in a mysterious way. Her hair was done up on top of her head in an elegant fashion, with pieces spilling out the sides and back. All in all, Harry could almost not believe it was the same girl.

"Wow… now I know why they were taking so long," Harry murmured with a grin, standing up to greet Susan. They met at the bottom of the stairs, and Harry taking her hands. "You look… amazing!" Harry stammered, realizing how plain he looked compared with her.

"And you look like the next seeker for the Chudley Cannons," she said with a mischievous grin. Harry let out a low laugh.

"Sorry my costume is so... lame," Harry said slowly. Susan let out a laugh.

"I don't care about the costume, you're all that matters," she said sweetly, linking arms with Harry. They walked over to where Draco and Zacharias were standing.

"Hey, what's taking Pansy so long? Is she okay?" Zacharias asked Susan.

"Oh don't worry," Susan said, rolling her eyes. "She'll be down in a few minutes... same for Luna," Harry and Susan sat down on one of the couches, deciding to wait for their friends to go down to the Great Hall.

Luna emerged about three minutes later, and she was even more breathtaking than Susan. She had dressed as a water fairy, and her costume was the same as Susan's, only blue. Draco wasted no time in pulling her into a deep, sweet kiss when she reached the bottom of the dormitory steps. Zacharias sighed deeply and glanced at his watch again. Everyone else had gone down to the Great Hall by now, and they were the only ones left.

"Don't worry, Pansy's almost finished," Luna said, leaning against Draco. And sure enough, Pansy came down the dormitory steps just a minute later. She was the biggest shock of all. She had dressed as a fire fairy, so her main color was red. She had gotten some wild extensions for her hair, and she looked nothing like the best friend Harry knew. Harry noticed Draco's jaw drop lower and lower as Pansy descended the stairs. When she reached the bottom Harry was relieved to find she just took Zacharias' hands and did not notice the fact that Draco's mouth was hanging open.

"Sorry I took so long! These stupid hair extensions are a bother... oh man, the whole common room is empty! Well we best be off," Pansy said, tugging Zacharias towards the exit. Harry, Susan, Draco, and Luna followed them out the portrait hole and into the candlelit hallway.

A few minutes later the six teens entered the Great Hall. The large room had been completely re-done, but Zacharias and Pansy just grinned as the others oohed and ahhed at the transformation.

"The committee really did a fantastic job!" Susan said.

"Yeah, this place looks great," added Luna. Neon lights, black lights, disco lights, and other crazy colored lights filled the room, spinning and swirling everywhere. The sides of the hall were lined with tables and tables of food. The back portion of the hall was filled with tables, all with a neon glowing centerpiece. The front of the hall held a large wooden dance floor. The DJ was set up beyond that. He had obviously just started playing music, for there were few kids on the dance floor.

"Well it looks like we were only _fashionably_ late," Pansy said with a grin. "Come on Zach, I'm starving," Pansy said, pulling Zacharias towards the food table. Luna turned to Draco and took his hand.

"Let's dance!"

"Sounds good to me," Draco said, following Luna to the dance floor. That left Harry and Susan standing alone in the neon lit room, not sure of what to do. They both turned to each other and started talking at the same time.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You go ahead," Susan said, clasping her hands together.

"Oh no, no, you go ahead, I don't care what we do," Harry said with a nervous shrug. Susan looked around the large room.

"Well, I think we should get a table, they seem to be filling up fast," Susan said. Harry nodded, and the two found a table with six seats, just in case the others came back.

"This is certainly... erm... cozy," Harry said nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah..." Susan said. There was another few moments of awkward silence, when all of a sudden Susan turned to him.

"Harry, I know dances aren't your thing, and they sure as hell aren't mine. So what do you say let's just forget about embarrassment and forget about nerves and just have fun!" Susan said in a quick rush. Her eyes poured into Harry, and he smiled.

"You read my mind," he said, standing up. Susan stood up after him and the two looked each other in the eye. "I'm glad you got that out of the way. Care to dance?"

"Why thank you Mister Potter," Susan said with a grin, taking Harry's hand as the two hurried to the dance floor.

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They danced for awhile, Harry was not sure quite how long, but by the time the music stopped and the DJ said he'd be back for another set in about ten minutes, Harry felt like he knew Susan Bones a whole lot better. They were much more open and definitely not shy anymore, but not as quite upfront as Luna and Draco were.

They walked hand in hand to a nearby table that Pansy and Zacharias had managed to claim, and collapsed into chairs with breathless laughter. Luna and Draco already sat there, drinking butter beer.

"Mad DJ you guys got," Drano said, running a hand through his hair.

"I don't think I've ever danced that much in my LIFE!" Susan said breathlessly, glancing over at Harry.

"Me either," Harry said with a laugh, casually reaching over and grasping Susan's hand.

"And this food is great," Luna said, taking a bite of what seemed to be a pastry of some sort.

"Well we try our best," Zacharias said with a smile, looking over at Pansy. Pansy looked down at the ruby and diamond necklace that had caused everyone so much trouble earlier.

"Zach, I cannot get over how well this matches my costume! It's like... you knew what I was going to go as to the dance before I did!" Pansy said smiling.

"Well it's not exactly out of your character to dress up as junk," an icy cold voice came from behind Pansy. The six whirled around to face the speaker, none other than a smirking Ginny Weasley, surrounded by Ron and several other Slithering.

"Weasley..." Drano muttered.

"What do you want?" Zacharias said, standing up to loom over Ginny.

"Oh, nothing... just wanted to congratulate you and throwing such a fantastic party!" Ginny said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I'd like to see you throw a party for the whole school... oh wait that's right... you're to busy making sure your devil horns don't show," Pansy said coolly. Ginny narrowed her eyes, and Ron stepped in front of his sister.

"Shut up Parkinson. As if you're one to talk about looks," Ron said.

"What, and you are?" Draco said, causing each of the Gryffindors to laugh.

"Just bugger off already," Zacharias said, waving his hand. Ron and Ginny scowled, frowns filling their pale faces. At a loss for words, the Weasleys and their Slytherin counterparts just stormed off, leaving the table of Gryffindors in a right mess of laughter.

"Nice one Draco," Pansy said with a smile.

"Ah, those dopes had it coming," Draco said. "There's no way they can spoil tonight," All of a sudden music began to pump through the room, and the teens turned to each other and hurried back out on the dance floor.

Harry was having a great time dancing with Susan, but for a few minutes he could not shake the words of the Weasleys out of his mind. For some reason, it still did not seem to him as if it would be something in their character to do. Diss his friend like that? But wait... THEY were his friends! Or maybe he was really hallucinating. Harry shook the thoughts away and began to dance more rigorously. Who cares if he _thought_ that the Weasleys had been his friends? They weren't now. Now he was with Susan, Draco, Pansy, and everyone else... friends that were his for sure.

So Harry left his thoughts behind and literally danced the night away, until finally, quite awhile later, the DJ came to the last song of the night, a slow, romantic tune. The spinning neon lights slowed down, and Harry almost felt like everything was going in slow motion. He took Susan waist, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Harry could not recall slow dancing with anyone, although he guessed he probably had... or maybe he hadn't. It didn't matter, he was now.

He felt the distance between his and Susan's faces becoming smaller. He could see the sparkles scattered all across her face in more detail now. Harry pulled himself closer to her until finally their lips met. He was sure time stopped for this moment in his life, and when the kiss finally ended Harry was surprised to find the song had finished and people were beginning to leave the Great Hall.

"Oh I just love watching other couples, it's so cute!" Luna cooed, popping out from nowhere beside Susan and Harry.

"But isn't it a lot funner when it's you?" Draco said, putting his arm around Luna's waist and kissing her on the cheek. She laughed and nodded. "Well we're outta here," Draco said. "Night all," Draco and Luna waved goodbye, and hurried out of the Great Hall to go who knows where.

Harry caught a glimpse of Pansy as she watched Draco and Luna disappeared into the crowds. He could almost swear that she looked as if she were about to start crying, but all of a sudden Zacharias jumped in front of her and began talking. Harry shook his head and turned back to Susan.

"Well eh... wicked party, huh?" he said, shoving his hands into his quidditch robe pockets.

"Yeah. To bad everyday isn't like this," Susan said with a smile. "In a way, I'm kind of glad. I wouldn't really like to dress like this everyday," she said with a laugh. Harry laughed too, but secretly he wouldn't _mind_ if she did dress like that everyday. Harry and Susan decided to walk back up to Gryffindor Tower, parting with Zacharias and Pansy who had to stay and clean up the mess leftover from the party.

Harry and Susan walked along the dimly lit hallways, not really noticing that no one else was milling around the corridors or walking back to their dormitories. The two were so wrapped up in the night and each other that it took them a few moments to realize the candles lining the corridors had all somehow been blown out, leaving them in complete darkness.

"Well this is brilliant," Harry said nervously.

"I never knew it was this dark in the castle at night," Susan said nervously.

"Don't worry, I've got it covered. Lumos!" Harry said, lighting the area. A wild, mangy face filled Harry's vision, and he was slammed against the castle walls. Susan let out a shriek and fumbled for Harry in the semi-darkness.

"Harry Potter! You musn't let yourself be fooled! Dreams do not last forever!" said the low vicious voice of the person who pinned Harry against the wall. Harry was too surprised and frightened to react quickly, or to take a detailed note of who it was pinning him against the castle walls. Before Harry could get his bearings, his lumos spell went out and the corridor was in complete darkness once again. Moments later the hall was illuminated once more, but the only people in it were Harry and Susan. Harry leaned against the right side of the wall, and Susan stood a few feet away in the middle of the corridor.

"Oh, Harry!" Susan asked, throwing her arms around Harry. "I'm so glad you're okay. What... _who_ was that? And what did they mean?" Harry awkwardly put his arms around Susan and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I... I don't know," he said slowly. Harry was now as confused as he had been the day he woke up and accused his friends of being his enemies and vice versa. Perhaps he was dreaming again, and this whole _night_ had been just a dream? But as he looked down at Susan, he realized that he did not want this to be a dream. He would face his problems... whether he understood them or not. But for the moment he just stood there in the hallway hugging Susan, not sure what would happen to him next.


End file.
